Guardian hires Wikileaks-player Chelsea Manning

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US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning is escorted out of a military court facility during the sentencing phase of his trial August 20, 2013 in Fort Meade, Maryland.

The Guardian announced on Tuesday that it had hired Chelsea Manning, a self-proclaimed U.S. whistleblower, as a contributing opinion writer.

Manning is a former U.S. Army private who was convicted in 2013 of leaking classified information to Wikileaks. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for what was deemed as one of the country's biggest leaks since the Pentagon Papers more than a generation ago.

Manning now identifies as transgender and was previously known as Bradley Manning.

The former U.S. private will write "occasionally from Fort Leavenworth prison on the subjects of war, gender and freedom of information" for the British publication's U.S. arm, Guardian Editor-In-Chief Katharine Viner wrote in a internal memo obtained by Politico. Viner said Manning will not be paid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Guardian hires Wikileaks-player Chelsea Manning