Chelsea Manning comes out as cisgender, asks Trump for clemency
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Chelsea Manning has come out as a heterosexual man and is asking President Donald Trump for clemency, sources confirmed today.
Manning, who once orchestrated the largest intelligence breach in U.S. military history, is currently in federal custody for refusing to testify against WikiLeaks and the recently arrested Julian Assange.
"As we know, Chelsea is a tremendously courageous person," said Manning's lawyer Mena Finelli. "But right now, he is the only straight man in a jail full of women. Can you imagine? It's unconscionable."
Speaking at a rally in Lima, Ohio, Trump indicated he would not entertain Manning's latest request.
"Only an idiot or a traitor would get involved with WikiLeaks. Trust me, I know," the president told his supporters amid chats of "lock her up." "And besides, Chelsea is locked up with a bunch of women. What is there to complain about?"
Meanwhile, the public reaction has been every bit as fluid as Manning's gender.
Joshua Shleemi, a former pro-Mannin…
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