Our nation has long faced the threat of our own people, with access to extremely sensitive information, turning on us. As this list – which is certainly not comprehensive – indicates, it has happened far too often and subsequently highly sensitive US operations and the security of our nation have been compromised. Oh, and sorry Reality Winner, as a Snowden wannabe you do not make the list. You’re actions were damaging, but you are just an everyday loser.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
One of the most famous cases of the cold war was a couple of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The couple was accused and convicted on the charge of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were accused of heading a spy ring that passed top-secret information concerning the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs vigorously protested their innocence, but after a brief trial in March 1951, they were convicted. This was during the era of the Red Scare that permeated the thoughts of US society. Spearheaded by Senator Joesph Marcarthy, from 1947 to 1956 he was the embodiment of heightened political repression as well as a campaign spreading fear of influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents. The Rosenbergs, one of McCarthy’s many targets, always maintained they were innocent but on April 5, 1951, a judge sentenced them to death.
