Michael Hernandez
06 June 2017•Update: 06 June 2017
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
A 25-year-old government contractor in Georgia became the first individual to be charged with leaking classified information during the Trump era on Monday, as the administration continues to be beset by disclosures of sensitive information.
The Justice Department said it charged Reality Leigh Winner with taking classified government information from a government office and mailing copies to an online news outlet.
“Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nation’s security and undermines public faith in government," the department's number two, Rod Rosenstein, said in a statement.
The department did not specify what information Winner had disseminated, or which government agency she was working for, but a recent report by the Intercept news website chronicled an intelligence report on hacking by Russia's main intelligence service, the GRU, in last year's presidential election using a highly sensitive NSA document.
The document Winner is alleged to have illegally publicized was dated on or about May 5, according to court documents.
The Intercept's document is dated May 5.
Winner was arrested at her home last Saturday, and made an initial court appearance on Monday, the department said. She had worked for the Pluribus International Corporation contracting firm since February, and had a top secret security clearance.
President Donald Trump has called for his administration to take a tough stance on leakers amid successive embarrassing revelations that have dogged him throughout his time in office. Trump claims that the unauthorized disclosures are undermining his administration.
