From CNNPolitics.com:
NSA leaker Reality Winner sentenced to more than 5 years in prison
by Dakin Andone and Sal Sendik
A former government contractor accused of leaking confidential information to the media has been sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Reality Winner, 26, was accused of taking a report about a 2016 Russian military intelligence cyberattack from the NSA facility where she worked and sending it to an online news outlet.
Winner initially faced 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, but accepted a plea deal. A federal judge sentenced her to 63 months in prison with three years of supervised release.
The former US Air Force linguist wore an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs as she sat down in the Augusta, Georgia, courtroom Thursday morning. Winner cracked a small grin as she was comforted by one of her attorneys, who defended her character and emphasized she accepted responsibility for her actions.
"She's a good person," said attorney John Bell. "Someone who didn't understand the magnitude of what she was doing." Bell also pointed out that Winner was a first-time offender who had wanted to serve her country.
Winner, an Air Force veteran, pleaded guilty in June after being held in prison at the Lincoln County Jail near Augusta, Georgia. Winner was arrested in June 2017, and charged under the Espionage Act for removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, according to the Justice Department.
Winner worked as a contractor with a Top Secret security clearance with Pluribus International Corporation at a federal facility in Georgia when she printed out a sheet of paper with classified information and mailed it to a news outlet, according to the Justice Department.
Winner had a colorful history on social media that laid bare her political leanings, and wanted to “resist” President Trump.
With regard to that, the WashingtonTimes.com wrote:
Ms. Winner, a 25-year-old Air Force veteran, environmentalist and opponent of President Trump, is accused of leaking a classified government report to an online news site.A very interesting note:
While the Justice Department didn’t address her motives in its criminal complaint, Ms. Winner’s social media account contains numerous references to environmental activism and support for liberal Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont.
She refers to Mr. Trump in one post as “a soulless ginger orangutan.”
Prosecutions for leaking government secrets are relatively rare, but they increased dramatically during the Obama administration, with at least eight cases. Before President Obama took office in 2009, the government had prosecuted only three such cases since the Espionage Act was enacted in 1917.Reality Winner, it turns out, is in fact a loser.
Judging from her social media posts, the blond young woman enjoys posting photographs of her pets, weightlifting and sharing information about the environment from sources allied with liberal figures such as Mr. Sanders and former Vice President Al Gore.
She has promoted articles in opposition to the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, both of which Mr. Trump has supported.
It is interesting to note that only minor government players or contractors have been indicted and sentenced for violations of this kind. Conspicuously absent are persons with the last name of Clinton, Comey, Rice, Brennan, Clapper and many more.
No comments:
Post a Comment