Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 8 June 2017
Alleged leaker’s parents fear Trump will be tough on case

By JOHNNY CLARK bond pending trial. She linguist, speaking Arabic
RUSS BYNUM has been jailed in neigh- and Farsi, and spent four
Associated Press boring Lincoln County years assigned to the NSA
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A since her arrest, accord- at Fort Mead, Maryland.
young woman charged ing to a booking report re- During that time, he said,
with leaking U.S. govern- leased by the sheriff. “She’s Winner provided real-time
ment secrets to a reporter not a flight risk,” said Gary translation to Americans
poses no flight risk if she’s Davis, Winner’s stepfather. conducting field missions.
released from pre-trial con- “Everybody in America Davis said she received a
finement, her parents said knows what she looks like commendation for aiding
Wednesday, though they at this point. She’s never in the deaths of more than
fear prosecutors will seek ran away from anything in 100 enemy combatants
to use the case to send a her life. She’s not a violent and more than 250 enemy
tough message from the person. She has no record. captures.
Trump administration. There’s no reason to hold “If she made this mistake,”
It will be difficult for her.” Prosecutors have not Davis said, referring to
25-year-old Reality Winner named the news outlet, but the leaked documents,
to get a fair trial if her case her arrest was announced “it needs to be balanced
becomes “this big thing Monday as the website against what she has done
where we’re not going to The Intercept reported it in the past and how she
tolerate leakers,” Winner’s had obtained a classified has served this country.”
mother, Billie Winner-Davis, National Security Agency Neither prosecutors nor
told The Associated Press in report suggesting Russian Winner’s parents have
an interview. hackers had attacked a identified the government
“I think they’re going to try U.S. voting software suppli- agency where she worked
to make an example out er before last year’s presi- at the time of her arrest.
of her because of the po- dential election. But the NSA has operated
litical climate right now,” This June 2017 photo released by the Lincoln County (Ga.) Sher- The Intercept said the NSA a $286 million complex in
Winner-Davis said. iff’s Office, shows Reality Winner. Winner, is being held for fed- report was dated May 5 Augusta since 2012.
Winner, a former Air Force eral authorities at the Lincoln County, Ga., jail. Winner charged — the same date court re- Though she was active
with leaking U.S. government secrets to a reporter poses no
linguist who now works as a flight risk if she’s released from pre-trial confinement, her par- cords cited for the docu- on social media, Winner
U.S. government contrac- ents said Wednesday, June 7, 2017, though they fear prosecu- ments Winner is accused doesn’t appear to have
tor, was arrested Saturday tors will seek to use the case to send a tough message from the of leaking. discussed her work on-
by FBI agents on charges Trump administration. Winner grew up in Kings- line. She did use her Face-
that she made copies of a (Lincoln County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office via AP) ville, Texas, and enlisted in book page to speak freely
classified report containing organization. ner in U.S. District Court to the Air Force after gradu- about politics, including
top-secret information and A judge has scheduled a determine whether to al- ating from high school. some scathing opinions on
mailed it to an online news hearing Thursday for Win- low her to be released on Davis said she became a President Donald Trump.
She posted on Facebook
three months ago that cli-
mate change is a more
important issue than health
care “since not poisoning
an entire population seems
to be more in line with
‘health’ care, and not the
disease care system that
people voted for a soulless
ginger orangutan to ‘fix.’”
Court records say Win-
ner admitted to mailing a
copy of the classified re-
port to a news outlet when
an FBI agent interviewed
her at her home Saturday.
In a court affidavit filed
late Tuesday, the FBI said
it seized Winner’s U.S. pass-
port, two spiral-bound
notebooks, two laptop
computers, and a Depart-
ment of Defense-issued
country handbook for Iran.
Investigators said in court
records that they wanted
to search her property for
a variety of computer infor-
mation as well as possible
contacts with media out-
lets and any possible con-
tacts with “foreign govern-
ments, foreign powers, or
agents of foreign powers.”