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NSA contractor charged in leak of classified document on Russian hacking and US election

Washington Post – “A 25-year-old government contractor has been charged with mishandling classified information, after authorities say she gave a top-secret National Security Agency document to a news organization [See article by The Intercept]. Reality Leigh Winner was accused of gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information — the first criminal charge filed in a leak investigation during the Trump administration. Winner was arrested Saturday and the case was revealed Monday, shortly after the website the Intercept posted a redacted version of a U.S. intelligence document describing Russian government efforts to use hacking techniques against employees of a company that provides technical support to states’ voting agencies. Court documents filed in federal court against Winner in Georgia did not identify the news outlet, nor the document in question, although both the Intercept and the court papers say the document in question was dated May 5. A person familiar with the case said the charges stem from the document given to the Intercept. Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said investigators’ fast work “allowed us quickly to identify and arrest the defendant. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nation’s security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation…”

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