Bradley Manning says he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea

WASHINGTON - Reuters

Protesters from a coalition of groups demonstrate the conviction of Wikileaker Bradley Manning late August 21, 2013 in front of the White House in Washington, DC. A US military judge sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison August 21, 2013 for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks AFP PHOTO/Paul J. Richards

U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, sentenced for leaking classified U.S. documents, said he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea.

A statement from Manning was read on NBC News' "Today" program on Thursday.

Manning, 25, was sentenced on Wednesday to 35 years in a military prison for turning over classified files to WikiLeaks in the biggest breach of secret data in the nation's history.

His lawyer, David Coombs, also told NBC said he expects Manning to get pardoned.