White House farewell

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama firmly defended his decision to cut nearly three decades off convicted leaker Chelsea Manning’s prison term Wednesday, arguing in his final White House news conference that the former Army intelligence analyst had served a “tough prison sentence” already.

Taking questions on many topics two days before his presidency ends, Obama also warned the “moment may be passing” for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pushing back on criticism over his recent move to put pressure on the Jewish state over settlement-building. Turning his attention to President-elect Donald Trump, Obama said he reserves the right to speak out as ex-president if Trump violates America’s “core values.”

Obama said he granted clemency to Manning because she had gone to trial, taken responsibility for her crime and received a sentence that was harsher than other leakers had received. He emphasized that he had merely commuted her sentence, not granted a pardon.

Reflecting on his legacy as the first black president, Obama disputed the notion that race relations had worsened. And he dismissed as “fake news” the idea that there is widespread voter fraud in the U.S., a notion that Democrats say is used to justify restrictions that make it harder for African-Americans to vote.