--- title: President Obama's Final Press Conference: Watch Live description: President Obama's final press conference comes just two days before he hands over the reins of the White House to Donald Trump canonical: https://time.com/4637566/president-obama-final-press-conference-watch-live/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-18T15:45:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:13:53.859Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Live: President Obama's Final Press Conference og:description: The conference comes just two days before he hands over the reins to Donald Trump og:url: https://time.com/4637566/president-obama-final-press-conference-watch-live/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt315724b5e00d9cff/6988b5e497cdffe26c6af224/barack-obama.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama Holds Farewell Address In Chicago og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Live: President Obama's Final Press Conference twitter:description: The conference comes just two days before he hands over the reins to Donald Trump twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt315724b5e00d9cff/6988b5e497cdffe26c6af224/barack-obama.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:12 video:published: 2017-01-18 section: politics topics: presidential clemency, Chelsea Manning, sentence commutation, classified information leaks, due process, sentencing disproportionality, deterrence genre: press conference, interview tones: measured, justificatory, formal emotions: confidence (medium), seriousness (medium), resolve (low) sentiment: neutral audience: policy followers, political news readers, legal observers, general news audiences people: Barack Obama, Chelsea Manning content_suitability: crime [00:00-01:12]; politics [00:00-01:12] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Watch Live: President Obama's Final Press Conference > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=0247dff4-b8ac-403e-95fa-661143779468&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Obama Defends Commuting Chelsea Manning's Sentence in Final Press Conference [Watch (HLS stream): President Obama Defends Commuting Chelsea Manning's Sentence in Final Press Conference](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/r8ZwMOyd.m3u8) (1:12)  _Published 2017-01-18. "I feel very comfortable that justice has still been served"_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Obama explains his decision to commute Chelsea Manning's sentence rather than pardon her. He argues that Manning has served a tough prison sentence and that the punishment still deters others from leaking classified information. He cites her trial, her acceptance of responsibility, and a sentence he considers disproportionate compared with other leakers as the basis for the commutation. ## Key points - Obama says Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence. (00:00) - He does not believe potential leakers would think disclosing classified information goes unpunished, given Manning's sentence. (00:14) - Obama says Manning went to trial and due process was carried out. (00:28) - He states Manning took responsibility for her crime. (00:40) - Obama considers the sentence Manning received very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received. (00:49) - Obama says it made sense to commute rather than pardon her sentence. (01:05) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:28] Manning's sentence and deterrence. Obama argues that Manning's served sentence still signals that leaking classified information is punished. - [00:28 to 01:12] Reasons for commuting the sentence. Obama cites due process, Manning's acceptance of responsibility, and disproportionality as reasons for commuting rather than pardoning. ## Key quotes - [00:00] President Obama: "Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence." - [00:40] President Obama: "she took responsibility for her crime" - [00:49] President Obama: "the sentence that she received was very disproportionate, relative to what other Leakers had received." - [01:05] President Obama: "It made sense to commute, and not pardon, her sentence." ## Questions this video answers - Why did Obama commute Chelsea Manning's sentence? [00:40] - Does Manning's sentence deter others from leaking classified information? [00:14] - Was Manning's trial conducted with due process? [00:28] - Why commute the sentence rather than pardon Manning? [01:05] - How did Manning's sentence compare to those of other leakers? [00:49] ## Content suitability - crime [00:00-01:12]: Discusses disclosure of classified information and the prison sentence of a convicted leaker. - politics [00:00-01:12]: Presidential clemency decision discussed in a political context. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 18, 2017 3:45 PM UTC "I feel very comfortable that justice has still been served" by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jan 18, 2017 3:45 PM UTC [President Obama](http://time.com/4632190/historians-obamas-legacy/) is set to hold the final press conference of his term on Wednesday afternoon, speaking just two days before welcoming [Donald Trump](http://www.thedrive.com/news/6993/why-donald-trumps-1-trillion-infrastructure-plan-actually-matters) to the [White House](http://time.com/money/4637396/donald-trump-tower-white-house/). The outgoing president is likely to face questions about [Chelsea Manning](http://time.com/4636935/president-obama-commute-chelsea-manning-prison-sentence/), whose sentence he commuted on Tuesday. The former U.S. Army soldier who leaked confidential documents to WikiLeaks will be released from prison in May, 28 years before her sentence was due to run out. After Friday’s inauguration, Obama is scheduled to vacation in Palm Springs, Calif., with First Lady Michelle Obama, [ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-hold-final-presidential-press-conference/story?id=44836210) reports. They will then return to Washington, where they will live in a rented house until their younger daughter, Sasha, has completed high school. Watch the live stream of the press conference above. ## Transcript [00:00] Let's ne clear. Chelsea Manning has served [00:06] a tough prison sentence. So, [00:10] the notion that the average [00:14] person who was thinking about disclosing vital, [00:18] classified information would think that it goes [00:21] unpunished, I dont think would get that impression. I [00:25] don't think would get that impression from the [00:28] sentence that Chelsea Manning has served. It [00:34] has been my view that given she went [00:40] trial, that Due [00:44] process was carried out, that she [00:49] took responsibility for her crime, that [00:55] the sentence that she received was very [01:01] disproportionate, relative to what other Leakers [01:05] had received. 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