A whistle-blower who leaked top secret selective information about America ’s bourdon war program has been sentenced to 45 month in federal prison .
Daniel Hale , 33 , who formerly worked as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force , pled guiltyin March to retaining and convey national defense entropy . He was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Alexandria , Va. by Judge Liam O’Grady on Tuesday .
In 2014 , Hale leaked more than 150 pages of classified material to a journalist , give away details about the government ’s unmanned ethereal vehicle cognitive operation . Hale took the documents from the National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency , where he was working as a contractor at the time .
Photo: Ethan Miller (Getty Images)
While it has never been officially admit , Politico reportsthat “ details about Hale ’s activities and the phonograph record he leaked make clear that the newsperson was Jeremy Scahill of the Intercept . ” document that Hale leaked were afterwards citedin The Drone Papers , an investigating by the retail store into the government ’s activities . Scahill alsowrote a bookabout drone warfare , in which he elaborated on the finding . Halelater said thatguilt over his own participation in drone strikes overseas had compel him to come forward with the information .
charge Hale under the Espionage Act , Union prosecuting attorney had previouslysought a maximum punishmentfor him — which would ’ve netted him 11 year behind bars .
Politico writesthat Hale appear “ suffocate up ” through part of Tuesday ’s judicial proceedings but showed “ no compunction about his revealing . ” Instead , he evince regret about having represent a part in America ’s drone program .
“ I am here because I stole something that was never mine to take — treasured human life . For that , I was compensate and given a medal , ” Hale read . “ I could n’t keep living in a world in which hoi polloi venture that things were n’t fall out that were . Please your laurels , forgive me for require papers instead of human life . ”
Throughout both the Obama and Trump judicature , the political science has continue to storm up anaggressive crackdown on whistleblowers — seeking to enforce ever harsher punishments for government secret agent who disclose classified information to reporters . As example , NSA whistleblower realness Winnerwas recently released from prison house , after serve a majority of a 63 - month sentence for leaking classified information about Russian noise in the 2016 presidential election .
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