Former Air Force intelligence analyst and NSA contractor Daniel Everette Hale was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for leaking classified documents that exposed the devastating civilian toll of the U.S. drone warfare program. His disclosures revealed that nearly 90 percent of people killed …
Daniel HaleNSAThe InterceptDepartment of JusticeBiden Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actdroneswar-crimesafghanistan
A U.S. grand jury added 17 counts under the Espionage Act to the federal indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, marking the first time in American history that the government used the 1917 anti-spying law to prosecute a publisher for receiving and publishing truthful classified …
Julian AssangeWikiLeaksDepartment of JusticeTrump Administrationespionage-actpress-freedomwikileaksfirst-amendmentextradition
Former Air Force veteran and NSA contractor Reality Leigh Winner was arrested for leaking a classified intelligence report documenting Russian cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure. Her case would result in the longest prison sentence ever imposed for an unauthorized release of government …
Reality WinnerNSAThe InterceptDepartment of JusticeTrump Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actrussiaelection-interferencepress-freedom
U.S. Army Private Chelsea Manning was sentenced to 35 years in military prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks that exposed war crimes and civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. The sentence was the longest ever imposed on a whistleblower under the Espionage Act and sparked …
Chelsea ManningU.S. ArmyDepartment of JusticeObama Administrationwhistleblower-prosecutionespionage-actwikileaksmilitary-justicewar-crimes
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden on June 14, 2013, charging him with three felonies: unauthorized communication of national defense information, willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized …
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Former CIA officer Jeffrey Alexander Sterling was indicted on espionage charges for allegedly revealing details about Operation Merlin—a botched covert operation to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program—to New York Times journalist James Risen. The case became a flashpoint in the conflict between …
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Former CIA officer John Kiriakou pleaded guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act after being indicted under the Espionage Act for publicly confirming that waterboarding was official U.S. government policy. In a profound miscarriage of justice, Kiriakou became the only person …
John KiriakouCIAObama AdministrationDepartment of Justicewhistleblower-prosecutiontortureespionage-actaccountabilitywar-crimes
Former NSA senior executive Thomas Drake was indicted on ten felony counts, including five under the Espionage Act of 1917, marking the Obama administration’s aggressive prosecution of national security whistleblowers. Drake faced up to 35 years in prison for allegedly retaining classified …
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Federal Judge David C. Westenhaver sentenced five-time Socialist Party presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs to ten years in federal prison for violating the Espionage Act by delivering an antiwar speech in Canton, Ohio on June 16, 1918. Before sentencing, Debs delivered his famous statement: …
Eugene V. DebsSocialist Party of AmericaPresident Woodrow WilsonJudge David C. Westenhaverfree-speechstate-repressionlabor-movementprogressive-eraespionage-act