Air Force vet facing ‘longest sentence’ ever for leaking to media

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Prosecutors say a Georgia woman who pleaded guilty to mailing a secret U.S. report to a news organization faces the “longest sentence” ever for a federal crime involving leaks to the media.

Ex-National Security Agency contractor Reality Winner is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 23 by a federal judge in Augusta. She pleaded guilty in June.

Winner’s plea deal calls for a prison sentence of five years and three months. The judge isn’t bound by that agreement, and the charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday their recommended sentence is stiffer than punishments in prior leak cases.

Winner’s arrest last year was announced the same day The Intercept published a story on a classified NSA report on Russian hackers and the 2016 election. She is a former Air Force linguist who speaks Arabic and Farsi and had a top-secret security clearance.

More In

Army picks four to build robotic combat vehicle prototypes

The Army will choose a single robotic vehicle from the four companies selected to build prototypes over the next year.

UK mulls onboard sensing requirements for satellites

The policy could be included as part of a forthcoming Space Sector Plan that outlines opportunities to boost the U.K. space economy and promote resilience.

Opinion

What commercial autonomous technology can do for US Army modernization

The Pentagon is at an important juncture as it thinks creatively and ambitiously on how to leverage this critical new technology.

Opinion

Cyber attacks reveal uncomfortable truths about US defenses

It should be recognized that cybersecurity systems can be just as flawed as the systems they protect, the author says.

Israel unveils new Barak tank with AI, sensors and cameras

Development for the Barak took five years, and it underwent testing over the last year.