Another Whistleblower Bites the Dust as The Intercept Adds a Third Notch to Its Burn Belt

The Intercept, which has long been associated with the documents shared by whistleblower Edward Snowden, has yet to fire any of the reporters responsible for these breaches that have seen two whistleblowers already imprisoned and third, Daniel Hale, likely to be imprisoned.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Daniel Hale | Jeremy Scahill

Early Thursday morning, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Daniel Everette Hale -- a former intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force and National Security Agency (NSA) and later a defense contractor working for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) -- for providing a reporter with classified government

Read Full Article

Reality Winner’s Sentence Celebrated as Longest Ever for Unauthorized Disclosure

Prosecutors claimed Winner’s disclosure of the NSA report “caused exceptionally grave damage to national security.” However, that was never proven during course of this case and in fact, prosecutors claimed it didn’t have to be proven to convict her of violating the Espionage Act.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
This combination of pictures created on June 9, 2017, from images provided by the Lincoln County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office shows the booking photo of intelligence contractor Reality Winner.

Former National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at a federal courthouse in Augusta, Georgia. It was part of a plea agreement approved by the court, where Winner admitted she disclosed classified information in violation of the Espionage Act. Winner will be incarcerated at Federal

Read Full Article

How a Judge Came to the Aid of Prosecutors Over a Billboard for NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner

Winner’s defense had absolutely nothing to do with the billboard, which went up on June 6.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola

When a loosely knit group, the Whistleblower Support Network, put up a billboard in Augusta, Georgia, for NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, it did not take long for a federal judge hearing the case to scold defense attorneys. However, Winner’s defense had absolutely nothing to do with the billboard, which went up on June 6, before Winner

Read Full Article

NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner Pleads Guilty to Espionage Act Charge

The Espionage Act charge prevented Winner from explaining her actions to a jury, which made it difficult for her to “receive a fair trial,” as well as fair treatment in court.

Kevin Gosztola
By Kevin Gosztola
This combination of pictures created on June 9, 2017, from images provided by the Lincoln County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office shows the booking photo of intelligence contractor Reality Winner.

Former NSA contractor Reality Winner pled guilty to one count of violating the Espionage Act when she disclosed an NSA report that claimed Russian hackers targeted United States voter registration systems in the 2016 election. The guilty plea was part of a change of plea hearing in federal court in Augusta, Georgia, and the result of a plea

Read Full Article

Reality Winner to Sign Plea Deal on Espionage Charge

Two things emerge clearly from the Winner and Albury espionage cases: 1) The Espionage Act was not created to, and should cease to, target journalists’ sources; 2) It would behoove The Intercept, and any such outlet, to work harder at protecting their sources.

Emma Fiala
By Emma Fiala
Accused NSA whistleblower, Reality Winner, leaves the U.S. District Courthouse in Augusta, Ga., following a bond hearing on June 8, 2017. (Photo: Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle/AP)

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA -- Reality Leigh Winner -- a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and linguist, and the first person to be charged with violating the Espionage Act on President Donald Trump’s watch -- has signed a plea agreement, according to the Courage Foundation. Her plea hearing has been scheduled for the morning of Tuesday, June

Read Full Article

The Intercept and Reality Winner: When a Conflicted News Organization Should Pass the Baton

While The Intercept skillfully shows the audacious federal government’s attack on whistleblower Winner is a threat to our democracy, it woefully obfuscates its own multiple failings to protect sources.

Ian Berman
By Ian Berman
Accused NSA whistleblower, Reality Winner, leaves the U.S. District Courthouse in Augusta, Ga., following a bond hearing on June 8, 2017. (Photo: Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle/AP)

On Jeremy Scahill’s June 6, 2018 Intercepted podcast, The Persecution of Reality Winner, his guests, colleagues and he skillfully showed how Reality Winner’s prosecution is a shameless act of the federal government’s prosecutorial overreach to shut down whistleblowers. Briefly, Winner released one classified NSA document that showed the federal

Read Full Article