After again having their repeated requests for bond denied over and over again for their client, Reality Winner’s defense team is now running a public relations campaign in an attempt to subvert the legal requirements for handling classified information.
The trial of accused NSA leaker Reality Winner had originally been scheduled to begin in October 2017, but it was delayed until March 19, 2017, in order to allow her defense team the time to acquire the security clearances that were required for them to handle classified information pertinent to the case. Now, her defense is claiming that the proper handling of the classified materials is too burdensome and is preventing their client from getting a fair trial. Winner is on trial for the improper handling of classified materials; she stands accused of sending classified NSA documents to an online media outlet.
Winner has been denied bail three times, due to the risk she poses to national security and the likelihood of her attempting to flee the country.
This week, lawyers for Winner returned to court and began requesting access to more classified documents they claim are required for the defense of their client. Winner’s attorneys are insisting that the restrictions placed on the handling of classified materials are too strict. This is rather ironic as their client has been charged with the intentional mishandling of classified materials.
Winner’s lawyers discussed with Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps the current deadlines set leading up to the trial, argued against restrictions placed on discovery, and appealed the judge’s previous ruling regarding how much classified material they would have access to.
Winner was arrested on June 3rd, 2017 after being questioned by FBI agents executing a search warrant on her residence. During her conversation with the FBI, Winner admitted to the crimes that she is now currently charged with. Her defense team has made motions to suppress the admission of guilt before the trial starts, as she has entered a plea of ‘not guilty.’
Winner is accused of willfully retaining and transmitting classified national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(e). The charge stems from Winner printing out a classified document and sending it to the news outlet The Intercept. She has admitted that she did so with the full knowledge that the leak could place America’s national security at risk.
“I mean yeah I do it’s literally the worst thing to happen on the planet” – Reality Winner, in a Facebook chat with her sister, responding to being asked if she actually hated America.
In the Facebook group ‘Friends of Reality Leigh Winner,’ Winner’s mother and other supporters have insisted that by not delaying the trial further and or denying defense team motions will “ensure” that she will not receive a fair trial. The group also claims that Winner is the first “whistleblower” to be prosecuted under President Trump. However, in the same confession that Winner admitted to smuggling top secret documents out in her pantyhose, she stated that she was not attempting to be a whistleblower, rejecting any comparisons to Edward Snowden.
If convicted, Winner faces up to ten years in a federal prison.
