Reality Winner isn’t a whistleblower — or a victim of Trump’s war on leaks

When Reality Winner was arrested last week under the Espionage Act for allegedly removing classified information from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, opponents of the Trump administration were quick to be alarmed. The 25-year-old federal contractor had been critical of President Trump on social media, and the document she allegedly leaked to the Intercept contained details of Russian attempts to hack into state and local election systems last fall — details that get to the heart of what Trump calls the “fake news” investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russian intelligence.

“Donald Trump’s frequent threats against leakers paved the way for Reality Winner’s arrest,” HuffPost wrote. “The crackdown on leaks has begun in earnest,” a New York Times national security reporter said on Twitter. Organizers of a rally in New York called the arrest “the opening salvo in the Trump Administration’s self-described war on leaks” and said Winner “deserves widespread support.” Edward Snowden said the law under which Winner was charged “must be resisted.” On social media, people called Winner a “hero” and a “whistleblower” and began raising money to support her and her family.

Read the whole story from The Washington Post.

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