Elijah Nouvelage / Reuters, file 
 
 “For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," she said. Manning attempted suicide twice last year — once in July, another in November — while imprisoned in Kansas. Manning said in a statement Wednesday that "whatever is ahead ... is far more important than the past," and that she's "figuring things out right now." Manning, who is transgender and was known as Bradley Manning before she transitioned in prison, was convicted in 2013 of 20 counts, including six Espionage Act violations. Manning's 35-year sentence for leaking an enormous trove of military intelligence records was commuted by President Barack Obama in January. Manning said in a statement released by her attorneys last week that she was looking forward to being released from Fort Leavenworth. The Crescent, Oklahoma, native tweeted after being granted clemency that she plans to move to Maryland. NBC News, citing an unnamed U.S Army official, says Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison Wednesday at around 2 a.m. Central Time. Manning said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the U.S. military's disregard of the effects of war on civilians and that she released information that she didn't believe would harm the U.S. No document was classified higher than secret and her defenders say no one was endangered by the leaks. Chelsea Manning is due to be released from a Kansas military prison after serving seven years of her 35-year sentence for leaking classified government materials to WikiLeaks.
– Now that she's a free woman, Chelsea Manning is letting the world know. "First steps of freedom!!" she tweeted Wednesday upon her release from military prison, along with a photo of her feet. Manning also issued a statement picked up by NBC News, which read in part: "Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past. I'm figuring things out right now—which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me." Meanwhile, Pulse Films announced at the Cannes Film Festival that it was making a documentary about the 29-year-old transgender soldier called XY Chelsea, reports the AP. Manning is expected to live in Maryland.