Reality Winner is free
After years in prison, Reality Winner is free.
Why you should know her: Winner was imprisoned for leaking a classified document detailing the government’s findings on Russian hacking of the 2016 election. She had access to the document through her work as an NSA contractor, and shared it with The Intercept, where it was published. The Intercept has termed her “the most prominent and harshly punished whistleblower of the Trump era,” referring to her lengthy sentence under the Espionage Act:
It struck many observers as dumbfounding that an actual Russian agent would receive a lighter jail sentence than an American trying to reveal a secret Russian effort to alter the outcome of an election.
The dangers of Winner’s cruel punishment were intensified by COVID-19 — she suffered with the illness after being denied release for her safety. And as the above statement from her lawyer shows, Reality Winner hasn’t been released through a process of justice restored by the Biden admin. Rather, while the president has ignored her case, Winner has been granted release for exemplary behavior. Meanwhile, her courageous move brought the hacking attempts to the attention of U.S. officials themselves, who had to read about it on the news.
We’re glad that Reality Winner will walk free. This week, we’re joined by Margaret and David Talbot for Episode 26 of Krystal Kyle & Friends. Paid subscribers can watch our conversation video when it drops Friday night. Audio will be available to everyone on Saturday through Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and more.
I like it how Americans sometimes give girls funny names. Reality Winner. That's a pretty cool name.
Your lack of ethics regarding Jimmy Dore speaks volumes.