Reality Winner, a 26-year-old Georgia adult woman who held a top-secret safety clearance in addition to worked equally a regime contractor inward Georgia amongst Pluribus International, initially faced 10 years inward prison theatre in addition to a $250,000 fine.
However, inward the U.S. District Court inward Augusta, Georgia on Thursday, Winner agreed to a plea understanding that called for 5 years in addition to 3 months inward prison theatre amongst 3 years of supervision after release.
Back inward May 2017, Winner printed out a top-secret document detailing nigh the Russian hacking into U.S. voting systems, smuggled the written report out of the means inward her underwear, in addition to and hence mailed it anonymously to The Intercept.
The Intercept, an online publication that has been publishing classified NSA documents leaked yesteryear Edward Snowden since 2014, afterwards published the five-page written report provided yesteryear Winner on its website.
The leaked written report claimed inward August 2016, Russia's armed forces intelligence means GRU "executed a cyber assault on at to the lowest degree i U.S. voting software supplier in addition to sent spear-phishing emails to to a greater extent than than 100 local election officials days earlier [the] election," revealing U.S. intelligence agencies knew of Russia's efforts to hack into its voting systems.
Winner was caught after The Intercept patently contacted NSA officials in addition to turned over a re-create of the written report to verify its authenticity piece scream for for comment earlier publishing its report.
That gave the regime the persuasion that the classified written report was had been printed out in addition to stolen from its facility. The officials in addition to hence used "microdots" (nearly invisible xanthous dots) on the printout to pose the exact printer where the document was printed.
"In particular, she knew that the unauthorized disclosure of information classified TOP SECRET, which is the highest classification level, reasonably could live on expected to drive exceptionally grave impairment to the national safety of the United States, in addition to that violation of rules governing the treatment of classified information could consequence inward criminal prosecution," Department of Justice said inward a statement.
"Revealing sources in addition to methods to the payoff of our adversaries in addition to to the detriment of our province volition never live on acceptable in addition to the FBI in addition to Department of Justice volition spare no examine to prosecute in addition to punish anyone who would produce so." said Special Agent inward Charge.According to the federal prosecutors, Reality Winner received "the longest judgement served yesteryear a federal accused for unauthorized disclosure to the media."
Winner's defenders called her a proficient individual amongst an otherwise build clean criminal record, in addition to argued she should live on hailed equally a whistleblower who eventually performed an of import populace service.
Since Winner she was arrested final June, she has been held without bail in addition to charged nether the U.S. Espionage Act.
