IN U.S. LEAK CASE MANNING S TERM OBAMA COMMUTES · the White House for his approval rating to slip...

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WASHINGTON — PresidentObama on Tuesday commuted allbut four months of the remainingprison sentence of Chelsea Man-ning, the Army intelligence ana-lyst convicted of a 2010 leak thatrevealed American military anddiplomatic activities across theworld, disrupted Mr. Obama’s ad-ministration and brought globalprominence to WikiLeaks, the re-cipient of those disclosures.

The decision by Mr. Obama res-cued Ms. Manning, who twicetried to kill herself last year, froman uncertain future as a transgen-der woman incarcerated at themen’s military prison at FortLeavenworth, Kan. She has beenjailed for nearly seven years, andher 35-year sentence was by farthe longest punishment ever im-posed in the United States for aleak conviction.

At the same time that Mr.Obama commuted the sentence ofMs. Manning, a low-ranking en-listed soldier at the time of herleaks, he also pardoned James E.Cartwright, the retired Marinegeneral and former vice chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff whopleaded guilty to lying about hisconversations with reporters toF.B.I. agents investigating a leakof classified information aboutcyberattacks on Iran’s nuclearprogram. [Page A3.]

The two acts of clemency were aremarkable final step for a presi-dent whose administration car-ried out an unprecedented crimi-nal crackdown on leaks of govern-ment secrets. Depending on howthey are counted, the Obama ad-ministration has prosecuted ei-ther nine or 10 such cases, morethan were charged under all pre-vious presidencies combined.

In addition, Mr. Obama on Tues-day commuted the sentence of Os-

car Lopez Rivera, who was part ofa Puerto Rican nationalist groupthat carried out a string of bomb-ings in the late 1970s and early1980s; the other members of thatgroup had long since been freed.Mr. Obama also granted 63 otherpardons and 207 other commuta-tions, mostly for drug offenders.

Under the terms of the commu-tation announced by the WhiteHouse on Tuesday, Ms. Manningis set to be freed on May 17 of thisyear rather than in 2045. A senioradministration official said the120-day delay was part of a stand-ard transition period for commu-tations to time served, and was de-signed to allow for such steps asfinding a place for Ms. Manning tolive after her release.

The commutation also relievedthe Defense Department of thedifficult responsibility of Ms. Man-ning’s incarceration as she pushesfor treatment for her gender dys-phoria, including sex reassign-ment surgery, that the militaryhas no experience providing.

But the move was sharply criti-cized by several prominent Re-publicans, including the chairmenof the House and Senate armedservices committees, Representa-tive Mac Thornberry of Texas andSenator John McCain of Arizona,who called her leaks “espionage”

OBAMA COMMUTESMANNING’S TERM

IN U.S. LEAK CASEEx-Army Analyst’s Sentence Ran to 2045

— A Retired General Is Pardoned

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

Chelsea ManningU.S. ARMY, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A3

WASHINGTON — Eighteenmillion people could lose their in-surance within a year and individ-ual insurance premiums wouldshoot upward if Congress re-pealed major provisions of the Af-fordable Care Act while leavingother parts in place, the nonparti-san Congressional Budget Officesaid on Tuesday.

A report by the office sharply in-creases pressure on Republicansto come up with a comprehensiveplan to replace the health care law.It is likely to doom the idea of vot-ing to dismantle the 2010 healthlaw almost immediately, with aneffective date set sometime in thefuture while Congress works to-ward a replacement.

If nothing followed the guttingof President Obama’s signaturedomestic achievement, the budg-et office said, 32 million peoplecould lose their health insuranceby 2026, and premiums in the indi-vidual insurance market coulddouble. Senator Susan Collins, Re-publican of Maine, showed the un-ease of some in her party when

she said that repealing the healthcare law and delaying a replace-ment could send insurance mar-kets into “a death spiral.”

She detected “a growing con-sensus among members of boththe Senate and the House that wemust fix Obamacare and providereforms at nearly the same timethat we repeal the law,” she said onthe Senate floor on Tuesday.

The new budget office report,issued after a weekend of protestsagainst repeal, will only add to theheadaches that President-electDonald J. Trump and congres-sional Republicans face in theirrush to take apart Mr. Obama’s

Pressure on G.O.P. as RepealMay Strip Millions of Coverage

By ROBERT PEAR

Senator Susan CollinsAL DRAGO/THE NEW YORK TIMES

Continued on Page A16

WASHINGTON — In one wayat least, President-elect Donald J.Trump has already surpassed allof his recent predecessors. Ittook Barack Obama 18 months inthe White House for his approvalrating to slip to 44 percent inGallup polling, and it tookGeorge W. Bush 4½ years to fallthat far. Mr. Trump got therebefore even being sworn in.

Indeed, Mr. Trump will takeoffice on Friday with less popularsupport than any new presidentin modern times, according to anarray of surveys, a sign that hehas failed to rally Americansbehind him, beyond the base thathelped him win in November.Rather than a unifying moment,his transition to power has seena continuation of the polarizationof the election last year.

Where other presidents usedthe weeks before their inaugura-tion to put the animosities of thecampaign behind them and to tryto knit the country togetheragain, Mr. Trump has ap-proached the interregnum as ifhe were a television wrestlingstar. He has taken on a civilrights icon, a Hollywood actress,intelligence agencies, defensecontractors, European leadersand President Obama. The heal-ing theme common at this stagein the four-year presidentialcycle is absent.

“He seems to want to engagewith every windmill that he canfind, rather than focus on thelarge aspect of assuming the

Trump EntersOffice UnbentAnd DislikedLowest Rating EverFor a New President

WHITE HOUSE MEMO

By PETER BAKER

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Dozens were killed and hundreds hurt Tuesday in a mistake by the Nigerian military. Page A4.Hunting Militants, Hitting Refugees

DAVOS, Switzerland — In aworld troubled by grave uncer-tainties over the basics govern-ing trade, security and the mis-sion to limit climate change,President Xi Jinping of China onTuesday portrayed his nation asa responsible global citizen dedi-cated to furthering internationalintegration.

That a leader of the People’sRepublic of China can stake aclaim to the mantle of leadershipin the realm of free trade speaksto the unforeseen, even surrealalteration of the global order inrecent months.

His message, delivered here inthe Swiss Alps at the annualgathering of the World EconomicForum, appeared meticulouslytimed to the tumultuous momentat hand. He was speaking threedays before Donald J. Trump wasto be inaugurated president ofthe United States, raising theprospect of a trade war withChina, and on the same day thatPrime Minister Theresa May ofBritain outlined plans to pursueher country’s departure from theEuropean Union.

The Chinese leader used his

Xi Casts ChinaAs ChampionOf OpennessBy PETER S. GOODMAN

Continued on Page B5

NEWS ANALYSIS

LONDON — “Get on with it.”With those words early in a ma-

jor speech on Tuesday, Prime Min-ister Theresa May charted Brit-ain’s course toward a clean breakwith the European Union and ex-pressed her fondest hope: that thetime for “division and discord” isover.

Her much-anticipated speechoutlined what promised to be ahugely complex, drawn-out nego-tiation, and it defined the broadobjectives, but not the details, ofBritish withdrawal. “The UnitedKingdom is leaving the EuropeanUnion, and my job is to get theright deal for Britain as we do,”

she said.With the address, Mrs. May be-

gan the jockeying that will lead toa break after more than four dec-ades of tight integration, and de-fine Britain’s relations with itsneighbors for decades to come.

She confirmed that Britain isdetermined to regain control ofmigration from the European Un-ion and rejected the supremacy ofthe European Court of Justice.That stance is anathema to theEuropean Union, which has madethe free movement of people — aswell as goods, capital and services— a bedrock principle and which

British Premier Outlines PathTo a Clean Break With the E.U.

By STEPHEN CASTLE and STEVEN ERLANGER

Regaining control of immigration was one objective laid out byPrime Minister Theresa May in Tuesday’s “Brexit” speech.

MATT DUNHAM/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Continued on Page A9

WASHINGTON — WhenSpeaker Paul D. Ryan needed tostop rebellious fellow Republicansfrom defanging a popular con-gressional ethics watchdog officethis month, he called a friend fromWisconsin, Reince Priebus, the in-coming White House chief of staff,for some stealthy help.

Mr. Ryan asked Mr. Priebus, thecongenial and cunning chairmanof the Republican National Com-mittee, for a favor: Could Presi-dent-elect Donald J. Trump inter-vene?

At the urging of Mr. Priebus, Mr.Trump quickly posted a pair ofscolding posts on Twitter: DidCongress really have to make thegutting of the popular Office ofCongressional Ethics “their num-ber one act and priority?” heasked, quickly bringing the insur-rection to a messy but welcomeend for Mr. Ryan.

This is the way that many main-

G.O.P. HopesA Chief of StaffBrings Stability

By GLENN THRUSHand MAGGIE HABERMAN

Continued on Page A14

By promoting plans to add jobsin the United States, companiesare hoping to curry favor with theTrump administration. Page A16.

Jobs as Political Capital

Continued on Page A14

Hidden for more than 70years in the muck of aNazi death camp in Po-

land, a pendant hasbeen traced to a 14-

year-old victim. Andit is almost identical

to one Anne Frankowned. PAGE A9

INTERNATIONAL A4-9

A Pendant’s Story of Loss

Late Edition

VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,481 + © 2017 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017

Barack Obama began his presidencywith bold strokes, but his aspirationslater were checked by a RepublicanCongress. Sixth in a series. PAGES A12-13

NATIONAL A10-18

The Obama Era

The prosecution said Noor Salmanknew of her husband’s plan to attack anOrlando, Fla., nightclub. PAGE A10

Wife of Mass Killer Is Charged

Despite being the betting favorite in 15 of16 N.F.L. games this season, New Eng-land beat the spread 13 times. PAGE B8

SPORTSWEDNESDAY B8-12

Smart Money Takes Patriots

Mark Zuckerberg denied that Oculus, avirtual reality company acquired byFacebook, stole technology. PAGE B1

BUSINESS DAY B1-7

Facebook Chief Testifies

With just days left, President Obamamust decide whether to go ahead andarm Syrian Kurds against ISIS or leavethe issue to the next president. PAGE A8

Obama’s Options on Syria

Ichiran, a Japa-nese restaurantin Brooklyn,offers “flavorconcentrationbooths,” wherediners can enjoytheir soup insolitude. PAGE D7

FOOD D1-8

Ruminating on Ramen

Frank Bruni PAGE A23

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A22-23

Rebekah Mercer, a Museum of NaturalHistory trustee, donates to groupsskeptical of climate change. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-7

Science, Money and Politics

The dissident performer Pyotr Pavlen-sky says he will seek asylum. PAGE C1

Russian Artist Flees to France

Governor Cuomo unveiled his $152billion plan through a series of closed-door meetings with senators. PAGE A19

NEW YORK A19-21

State Budget’s Quiet Rollout

A horse with ablack jockey,trainer andowners won a toprace on MartinLuther King’sBirthday. Left,co-owner GastonGrant. PAGE A19

Victory Carries Extra Weight

Today, morning fog, some rain early,cloudy, high 45. Tonight, cloudsbreaking, low 38. Tomorrow, partlysunny, mild, light wind, high 50.Weather map appears on Page C8.

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