NEW HARTFORD – On Tuesday, January 17, President Barack Obama commuted the prison sentences of 273 individuals as one of the final executive orders of his presidency.

Chelsea Manning – a former Army soldier who was convicted in 2013 of stealing 750,000 pages of documents and videos and leaking them to WikiLeaks – was among those 273 individuals, and her commuted sentence has been the subject of widespread debate.

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York's 22nd congressional district announced in a statement that she is 'deeply troubled' by Obama's decision to commute Manning's sentence.

“Manning pled guilty to numerous charges and was convicted of several more after she illegally released thousands of classified government documents,” said Tenney. “Her actions had the potential to put American lives in danger, threatened the security of our allies, and undermined the vital work of our diplomats.”