“Judge Epps is requiring Winner to sign an agreement not to disclose any information she accesses during her trial regarding her alleged intentional unauthorized disclosure and mishandling of classified information…”
(Augusta, GA) Reality Leigh Winner, the 25-year-old Air Force Veteran and NSA contractor accused of leaking classified information to an online news outlet, is scheduled to return to federal court on Wednesday for a status update on her upcoming trial.
Currently charged with a single count of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information,” her trial is scheduled to begin on October 23rd, 2017. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine; she entered a plea of not guilty at her arraignment on June 8th and is currently being held without bail.
To clarify, Winner also signed an MOU before handling the classified information she is accused of leaking.
Earlier this month, US Magistrate Judge Brian Epps issued a six-page ruling that said Winner would be allowed access to all of the classified information that is entered as evidence in her trial. Previously, access had been limited to the prosecution and her legal team. Her defense attorneys argued that Winner could not receive a fair trial if she was not allowed full access to all of the information in the case, to include materials that are classified as “Top Secret.”
In the ruling, Epps said that Winner would be allowed to inspect the materials in a secure location, as long as she signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). To clarify, Winner also signed an MOU before handling the classified information she is accused of leaking. An MOU is the document one signs that signals an agreement and understanding that the person signing is legally barred from disclosing or mishandling classified information.
In other words, Judge Epps is requiring Winner to sign an agreement not to disclose any information she accesses during her trial regarding her alleged intentional unauthorized disclosure and mishandling of classified information. In the order, the judge wrote that Winner is “subject to the court’s authority, contempt powers, and other authorities, and shall fully comply with the nondisclosure agreements she has signed, this order, the MOU, and applicable statutes.”
The information she is accused of leaking involved allegations that discussed whether Russian hackers had attacked voting machines and software in the days leading up to the United States presidential election in November 2016. The information was accessed after Winner began working as an intelligence specialist for Pluribus International Corporation, a defense contractor in Augusta, GA.
Before executing a search warrant on Winner’s home, the FBI confirmed that Winner was one of only six people who had accessed the document that was leaked to The Intercept, an online new website. When questioned by the FBI, Winner also allegedly admitted to willfully leaking the information, with full knowledge that it could potentially harm the government of the United States.
On Saturday, September 2nd, Reality Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, has coordinated a rally in Kingsville, TX. The rally was coordinated through the closed Facebook group “Stand With Reality.” The Facebook group has frequently been a hotbed for discussions about overthrowing the United States government and how to illegally communicate with Winner while she is in prison, in addition to other truly bizarre and conspiratorial topics. However, the rally is officially just a platform for supporters to learn the latest news about Reality Winner and to learn more about the espionage act under which she is being prosecuted. “Rally for Reality” is being held in a local mall parking lot from 11 AM to 2 PM.
