Federal contractor charged with leaking classified report News
Federal contractor charged with leaking classified report

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced [statement] charges [complaint, PDF] against a federal contractor Monday for leaking classified material to a media source. Reality Leigh Winner operated under Pluribus International Corporation in Georgia at the time she is alleged to have removed material from a US government facility. Winner maintained top secret clearance since February. She is charged with gathering, transmitting or losing defense material. Winner is suspected of transmitting a report to The Intercept, an online news organization. The report at issue contained information alleging [AP report] a Russian cyber attack took place on a voting software supplier before the last US presidential election.

Possible hackings and data breaches have caused serious concern in recent years. In March the DOJ announced the indictments [JURIST report] of four Russian nationals in connection with hacking e-mail accounts. In January a group of 10 US Senators introduced legislation [JURIST report] aimed at implementing mandatory sanctions against Russia for its involvement in cyber hacking during the 2016 presidential election. In October 2015, at the request of US government officials, Chinese authorities arrested [JURIST report] individual hackers that allegedly misappropriated commercial secrets from US firms with the intention to sell proprietary information to state-owned entities within the the People’s Republic of China.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.