Judge Denies Bail for Reality Winner, Accepting Prosecutor’s Dubious Allegations

On Thursday, a federal judge denied a second request for bail from Reality Winner, a former National Security Agency contractor accused of violating the Espionage Act, despite an admission from the federal prosecutor in charge of the case that the government relied on false information in Winner’s initial bail hearing.

In his decision denying bail, Judge Brian Epps did not acknowledge or reference the prosecutor’s false statements, despite the statement having been a principal reason the defense moved for the renewed hearing.

Reality Winner Was Not Told She Had the Right to Remain Silent

At a court hearing on Wednesday, a federal judge agreed to delay accused leaker Reality Winner’s trial until March. The delay will allow Winner’s lawyers and expert witnesses to acquire the required security clearances needed to access classified information the government may use against her in court.

A potentially critical pretrial battle, however, is brewing right now, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Winner — the 25-year-old Air Force veteran and ex-National Security Administration contractor indicted under the Espionage Act for allegedly leaking a top-secret document — has accused the FBI of violating her Miranda rights. Winner’s lawyers are arguing that any alleged confession should be barred from a jury trial.

Reality Winner Wrote She Wanted To 'Burn The White House Down,' Prosecutor Says

AUGUSTA, Ga. ― Government contractor Reality Winner made explosive comments about burning down the White House in notebooks the FBI found in her Augusta, Georgia, residence, according to a prosecutor who spoke in U.S. District Court on Thursday.

Winner pleaded not guilty to charges of leaking classified government information. She was denied bail.

FBI Arrests Federal Contractor In Leak Of NSA Report On Russian Hacking Effort

WASHINGTON ―  A government contractor in Georgia was arrested this weekend after a classified National Security Agency report was leaked on an alleged cyberattack attempt by Russian military intelligence officers on a voting software company and local election officials.

Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old federal contractor for Pluribus International Corp. who had a top secret security clearance and was working at a government agency, was arrested by FBI agents Saturday at her home in Augusta, Georgia, according to the Justice Department.

In Reality, public trust is the Winner

Reality Winner is poorly named. Reality Loser would be more apt under the circumstances, given a post-truth, Trumpian age.

Welcome to the new world of whistle-blowing. Disclosing government secrets, even with a huge public interest attached to their airing, is now a high crime against the state.

Just to be clear, I side with the truth-tellers, no matter how many years in prison they get from the governments they expose. In Winner’s case, she has been indicted on a single count of illegally retaining and transmitting national defence information. She allegedly leaked a classified NSA document to the online news organization The Intercept.