Obama shortens sentence of Manning, who gave secrets to WikiLeaks

STUXNET

Obama also pardoned retired US Marine Corps general James Cartwright who pleaded guilty in October to making false statements to the FBI during an investigation into leaks of classified information.

The aggressive prosecution of Cartwright, who last served as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent shockwaves through the Pentagon.

He lied during questioning by the FBI over a book written by a New York Times reporter that exposed a malicious computer software program known as "Stuxnet" designed to disrupt Iran's nuclear program. Cartwright denied being the source of the leak.

Obama weighed Cartwright's service along with his motive when making the decision, the White House official said, noting Cartwright had not divulged material that the journalist was not already aware of, and that his conversations were focused on preventing the publication of material that could hurt national security.

"It's clear in this case ... that General Cartwright's motive was different than most people who are facing charges of leaking classified information to a journalist," the official said.

PUERTO RICAN MILITANT

Also on the pardon list: Oscar Lopez Rivera, who was sentenced in 1981 to 55 years in prison for his involvement with Puerto Rican militant group FALN, which claimed responsibility for dozens of bombings in the 1970s and 1980s.

Lopez Rivera - who turned down a similar offer from President Bill Clinton in 1999 - was the last remaining member of FALN still in prison.

"Mr. Lopez Rivera is now in his 70s. He has served 35 years, nearly half of his life in prison," a White House official said. "The president determined that was sufficient amount of time to serve, although the president certainly believes that the crimes that were committed were serious."

US Senator Bernie Sanders campaigned for the release of Lopez Rivera during his unsuccessful campaign against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Manning and Lopez Rivera were among 209 commutations granted by Obama on Tuesday and Cartwright was among 64 pardons.

In total, Obama has commuted sentence for 1,385 federal prisoners - a total greater than that of the 12 previous presidents combined - and he is expected to announce more on Thursday, the White House official said.

Most of the commutations were a part of Obama's effort to reduce the number of people serving long sentences for non-violent drug offenses.