AP, Savannah :
A Georgia woman who mailed a secret U.S. report to a news organization faces the “longest sentence” ever behind bars for a federal crime involving leaks to the news media, prosecutors said in a court filing.
Former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner, 26, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23 by U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall in Augusta. She pleaded guilty in June to a single count of transmitting national security information when she worked in Augusta as a translator at an NSA facility.
Winner’s plea deal with prosecutors calls for imprisonment of five years and three months. But the sentencing judge isn’t bound by that agreement. Winner’s crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
The Trump administration has made prosecuting government employees who leak sensitive information to the media a high priority, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged to clamp down on leaks last year.
“The government advises the Court that despite the agreed-upon sentence being below the applicable guidelines range, it would be the longest sentence served by a federal defendant for an unauthorized disclosure to the media,” the prosecutors wrote.
Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling in 2015 received 3 ½ years in prison for leaking details of a secret mission to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. CIA veteran John Kiriakou received 2 ½ years in prison in 2013 for leaking a covert officer’s identity to a reporter.
Winner’s defense lawyers noted in their own court filing Wednesday that prior leak prosecutions resulted in less severe penalties than what she has agreed to, “including cases where the factual conduct, and information leaked, was arguably worse.”
Prosecutors noted their plea deal with Winner allowed the U.S. government to avoid disclosing secret information in a public courtroom. If Winner stood trial, they said, prosecutors would have been forced to reveal the classified report she leaked and have witnesses explain its contents.
“The Intelligence Community assessed that this further disclosure of the Intelligence Report and explaining its contents would compound the exceptionally grave harm to national security already caused by the defendant,” the prosecutors’ court filing said.
A Georgia woman who mailed a secret U.S. report to a news organization faces the “longest sentence” ever behind bars for a federal crime involving leaks to the news media, prosecutors said in a court filing.
Former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner, 26, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23 by U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall in Augusta. She pleaded guilty in June to a single count of transmitting national security information when she worked in Augusta as a translator at an NSA facility.
Winner’s plea deal with prosecutors calls for imprisonment of five years and three months. But the sentencing judge isn’t bound by that agreement. Winner’s crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.
The Trump administration has made prosecuting government employees who leak sensitive information to the media a high priority, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions pledged to clamp down on leaks last year.
“The government advises the Court that despite the agreed-upon sentence being below the applicable guidelines range, it would be the longest sentence served by a federal defendant for an unauthorized disclosure to the media,” the prosecutors wrote.
Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling in 2015 received 3 ½ years in prison for leaking details of a secret mission to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. CIA veteran John Kiriakou received 2 ½ years in prison in 2013 for leaking a covert officer’s identity to a reporter.
Winner’s defense lawyers noted in their own court filing Wednesday that prior leak prosecutions resulted in less severe penalties than what she has agreed to, “including cases where the factual conduct, and information leaked, was arguably worse.”
Prosecutors noted their plea deal with Winner allowed the U.S. government to avoid disclosing secret information in a public courtroom. If Winner stood trial, they said, prosecutors would have been forced to reveal the classified report she leaked and have witnesses explain its contents.
“The Intelligence Community assessed that this further disclosure of the Intelligence Report and explaining its contents would compound the exceptionally grave harm to national security already caused by the defendant,” the prosecutors’ court filing said.
