Federal contractor Reality Leigh Winner arrested for sending classified NSA intelligence to news outlet
A 25-year-old federal contractor is facing charges she leaked a classified National Security Agency document to a news outlet in May.
The charges against Reality Leigh Winner came about an hour after the publication of a story based on an NSA document detailing Russian attempts to hack American voting systems in 2016.
President Trump has been pushing Justice to go after leakers inside the federal government, which he has identified as “the big story” when it comes to Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Winner’s arrest could signal the federal government is going to aggressively investigate and prosecute individuals who send classified intelligence to news organizations.
Trump and other Republican allies in Washington have made pursuing leakers one of their top priorities, but Winner is the first to face charges for releasing classified intelligence.
Winner, of Augusta, Ga., is facing charges that she removed classified material from a government facility and mailed it to a news outlet. She was arrested on Saturday and appeared on the charge Monday.
The announcement came shortly after The Intercept published a report based on a classified intelligence document showing Russian government hackers attempted to hack more than 100 local election officials before the November election.
According to the report, Russian military intelligence sent the emails to local elections officials. They also attempted a cyberattack on at least one American voting software supplier.
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Federal contractor arrested for sending classified intelligence about Russia to news outlet https://t.co/ny6CmCGh1K pic.twitter.com/fJsoinoYSd
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 5, 2017
Passing a VERY highly classified #NSA report to an objectively pro-Putin outlet should be severely prosecuted. https://t.co/6iSv8JRFdd
— John Schindler (@20committee) June 5, 2017
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