NSA Leak has revealed the facts about the cyber-attacks headed by Russia a few days before the U.S. presidential election held last year. The document that was handed over to The Intercept has clear indication and proof of Russian interference through cyber-attacks on the presidential election. This report has very detailed information on the data gathered by the U.S. Government with respect to what Russia was trying to do during the election. There were many allegations regarding the nature of the relationship shared between President Trump and Vladimir Putin and its influence, if any, on the presidential election.

The leakage of the document has really made things worse for Trump. Reality Winner, a 25-year-old National Security Agency contractor was accused of leaking classified information to The Intercept. She has pleaded not guilty at a hearing in Augusta, Ga. The judge denied her bail after prosecutors suggested she may possess more secret documents.

Details in the NSA Document

The document leaked from National Security Agency has the report on the strategies of hacking used by the Russians. The Intercept has even revealed the fact that the officer who shared the document has warned not to draw the conclusion in haste on the facts given in the report, as it needs very deep analysis. It is estimated that the hacking done by Russia has penetrated much further into the voting systems of the USA.

There are clear statements in the report, which points at GRU or General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia being responsible for the attack

It is to be noted that there are no conclusions in the NSA report about the influence of the Russian cyber-attacks on the presidential election results. There are clear indications on the probability of Russian hacking to breach into some parts of voting systems but what they have done with that is not clearly understood.

The Intercept says that they have tried to connect with NSA officials for their comments on the secret document. The officials have made requests for them to not publish the document nor to report on the document. Intercept has denied the requests and went on publishing reports about the secret document but agreed with NSA about not publishing the document.

The report seems to indicate strategies by the Kremlin to harm Hilary and ensured that she did not get the presidency.

The arrest of Winner

The report on the secret document of NSA that was published in The Intercept indicated the cyber-attacks on the company which was providing technical support for the state voting agencies came from Russia. There are no clear statements on whether the voting tabulations or voting machines were compromised in the attack, but this opens another door for the investigations into the interference of Russia in the U.S. presidential election.

One hour after the report on the NSA secret document was published, Reality Leigh Winner, a Government contractor working with Pluribus International Corporation, was arrested for mailing the secret document from a government facility.

Reality Winner is charged under the Espionage Act and can face about 10 years imprisonment if she gets convicted. Winner was presented in court on Monday and the attorney representing her requested her release as she has no past criminal records and is not a threat to the society.

Winner was an active Air Force member from 2013 until she joined Pluribus International. Her family is confused about the sequence of events that happened and were not able to believe that Reality could take such a step.

“She’s expressed to me that she’s not a fan of Trump, but she’s not someone that goes and riots and pickets or stuff,” Winner’s mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told the Daily News.

Winner’s social media page is flooded with abusive remarks.

Julian Assange has shown support for her on Twitter and referred to her act as the courage of a young woman to let people know about the hidden facts, in his tweet.

Edward Snowden, in a statement he released on Tuesday through the Freedom of the Press Foundation, criticized Winner's arrest. Edward Snowden defended the alleged NSA leaker Reality Winner saying, “The prosecution of any journalistic source without due consideration by the jury as to the harm or benefit of the journalistic activity is a fundamental threat to the free press.

As long as a law like this remains on the books in a country that values fair trials, it must be resisted. Winner is neither a threat to public safety nor a flight risk. To hold a citizen incommunicado and indefinitely while awaiting trial for the alleged crime of serving as a journalistic source should outrage us all.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED