BIG WIN

NSA Leaker Reality Winner Released Early From Prison for Good Behavior

Winner was serving a five-year sentence for leaking classified information to a news outlet.

Reality Winner, who pleaded guilty to leaking classified information about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election to the press, is being released from prison. A statement released by her attorney, Alison Grinter Allen, said Winner remains in custody but is undergoing a transitional reentry process and is barred from making any public statements or appearances. “Her release is not a product of the pardon or compassionate release process, but rather the time earned from exemplary behavior while incarcerated,” Allen wrote. In 2018, the former NSA contractor was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for violating the Espionage Act after leaking top-secret documents about Russian interference in the 2016 election to The Intercept in 2017. Winner had previously requested a compassionate release over fears of COVID-19, which she eventually contracted while incarcerated.