Whistleblower Reality Winner sentenced to longest prison term in the history of federal leak cases
Freedom of the Press Foundation
August 23, 2018
A federal judge has agreed to a plea deal negotiated by the Justice Department and whistleblower Reality Winner. For one count of violating Section 793 of the archaic Espionage Act, Winner will serve 63 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release—the longest sentence a source of the press has received in federal court in history.
Winner agreed to the plea in July after being accused of leaking a secret NSA report to the media that detailed how alleged Russian actors attempted to hack United States election infrastructure. She had confined in jail awaiting trial for over a full year without bail.
Freedom of the Press Foundation Executive Director Trevor Timm issued the following statement:
Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.
Thanks for signing up for our newsletter. You are not yet subscribed! Please check your email for a message asking you to confirm your subscription.