NSA leaker gets five-year sentence

A former government contractor who pleaded guilty in June to transmitting national security information was sentenced in Augusta, Ga., Thursday to five years in jail. Prosecutors say that’s the longest sentence ever imposed for leaking classified information to the media. U.S. Attorney Bobby Christine called 26-year-old Reality Winner “the quintessential example of an insider threat.” Winner admitted hiding a classified report in her pantyhose to sneak it out of the National Security Agency office in Augusta, where she worked. She then sent it to an online media outlet. Although officials never named the outlet, The Intercept reported on a secret NSA document in June 2017 on the day of Winner’s arrest. The document detailed Russian government attempts to hack a Florida-based supplier of voting software and election officials’ online accounts ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.