Georgia Worker Leaked Classified Info To News Outlet: Authorities

AUGUSTA, GA — A Georgia woman named Reality Leigh Winner, a former government contractor in Augusta, has been indicted by federal officials for allegedly leaking classified documents from her work to an "online news agency," possibly The Intercept. The website posted a story Monday afternoon that says Russian government hackers may have directly targeted an election-voting software company as well as election officials.

A criminal complaint was filed in the Southern District of Georgia Monday charges Winner, 25, with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet. Winner was arrested by the FBI at her home on June 3, and appeared in federal court in Augusta Monday.

“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,” said Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein in a news release.

According to the allegations in the criminal complaint, Winner worked for Pluribus International Corporation assigned to a U.S. government agency facility in Georgia. She was employed at the facility since on or about Feb. 13 and held a top-secret clearance during that time. On or about May 9, Winner allegedly printed and improperly removed classified intelligence reporting, which contained classified national defense information from an intelligence community agency, authorities claim. A few days later, Winner mailed the intelligence reporting to an online news outlet, which court documents do not name.

As the FBI searched her residence, Winner reportedly agreed to talk with agents and admitted identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue despite not having a "need to know." Officials say Winner also admitted taking the classified intelligence reporting from her office and mailing it to the news outlet.

See the federal indictment in full at the bottom of this story.

The Intercept reporters caution that a single report is not definitive evidence, but they write that if true, the report reveals a much deeper level of attack on the American electoral process than has been publicly known.

Previously, the American intelligence community has reported on extensive efforts by the Russian government to covertly influence popular sentiment during the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton and in favor of Donald Trump, most notably by releasing hacked emails from the Democratic National Convention and Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta. Multiple investigative bodies are currently examining these efforts, including possible collusion with the Trump campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently denied that any such intelligence operations took place.

In the discussion of Russia's meddling in the election, Republicans have been at pains to emphasize that no evidence shows that vote tallies were altered. The NSA did not immediately respond for a comment on this story.

Read the full report at The Intercept.

Shortly after the website's report broke, the Justice Department announced Winner's arrest. Many observers noted the coincidence of the arrest report with the posting of the story, and NBC News later reported that Winner was indeed the woman who leaked to the Intercept.

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