'I'm Not Going to Say No' - Chelsea Manning on Going Into Politics

While her future career path remains an open question, going into politics is a real possibility, recently released whistleblower and transgender activist Chelsea Manning revealed in an interview for Vogue magazine.

The first time the former US Army soldier's political ambitions became public was when then-Bradley Manning's lawyer stated that his client had expressed a desire to "one day run for public office." A recent exclusive interview in Vogue features an ambiguous statement from Manning that finally readdresses the whistleblower's political ambitions.

When the Vogue journalist asked her if the political career was still an option, Manning replied: "I'm certainly not going to say no, and I'm certainly not going to say yes." She noted that she'd use the next six months to figure out what she'd like to engage in.

guess this is what freedom looks like 😊👙💋🏊‍♀️🚣‍♀️⛴️🌅🏖️🏙️ @voguemagazine https://t.co/g7YYNkcd9l 😎🌈💕 https://t.co/nyAUje52bE pic.twitter.com/n4ixFkIdVn

— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) August 10, 2017

Manning leaked more than 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks in 2010, including profiles of Guantanamo Bay detainees, evidence of civilian deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. In August 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for having violated the Espionage Act.

The day after sentencing, Manning announced she had had a female gender identity since childhood. In the statement, she expressed her wish to begin hormone replacement therapy and to change her name to Chelsea.

Manning was released from the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth in May, after her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama.