The intelligence contractor accused of leaking a highly classified National Security Agency report to the media has been indicted.
According to court documents, a federal grand jury indicted 25-year-old Reality Winner on a single count — "willful retention and transmission of national defense information."
Winner is accused of "removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet." Her attorney told reporters she plans to plead not guilty.
She's being held at a county jail in Georgia until her detention hearing Thursday afternoon. Her lawyer says he will argue for her release.
That classified material Winner is accused of leaking is reportedly a top-secret document about Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. In numerous news stories, unnamed sources allege Winner gave it to a reporter at The Intercept.
Winner was taken into custody last week. But the Justice Department didn't announce her arrest until Monday — the same day The Intercept published a report on the document.
If Winner is found guilty, she faces up to 10 years behind bars and up to a $250,000 fine.
