18 January 2017, 14:16 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Manning's sentence was commuted by the White House on Tuesday. The whistleblower, who was sentenced for 35 years in jail in 2013 for releasing US classified government information, is now due to walk free on May 17.
"I think the President-elect is troubled by this action," Spicer stated. "It's disappointing and it sends a very troubling message when it comes to the handling of classified information and the consequences for those who leaked information that threatened the safety of our nation."
Manning was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq, while serving in the US army. Then-Bradley Manning admitted disclosing classified information to WikiLeaks, concerning deaths among civilians caused by US airstrikes, Guantanamo prisoners and about 250,000 US diplomatic letters.
