A Dose of Reality

We know there is a lot yet to come with the story of Ms. Reality Winner, and we will likely be writing again on this topic after the trial is over. Unlike other recent espionage cases however, so much of this has already been made public that it is ripe for commentary.

Here’s a brief synopsis for anyone unfamiliar with the story –

Reality Winner is the name of a 25 year-old defense contractor charged with illegally “Gathering, Transmitting or Losing Defense Information” under 18 US Code 793 (the present day incarnation of the 1917 Espionage Act). She is alleged to have removed a Top Secret Intelligence report from the secure facility where she worked and to have passed it on to a media outlet. She was arrested almost immediately after this action and is now being held without bail awaiting trial. She has pleaded not guilty despite federal prosecutors’ contention that she admitted to the crime upon her arrest. Ms. Winner served in the Air Force for six years as a linguist before taking a job with defense contractor Pluribus Corporation this past February. She held a Top Secret Special Intelligence clearance at the time of her arrest.

Despite the growing pile of publicly-known evidence against Ms. Winner, she is still innocent until proven guilty. With that in mind, most of what follows in this post are questions and conjectures resulting from facts of the case that are known at this point.

If the news accounts are correct, it was an easy trail from the stolen secrets back to Ms. Winner herself. So easy that it almost seems like a gun-less version of suicide by cop. This is what struck us the most with the initial reporting of the story. Did she imagine herself as a martyr to some cause such as her hatred of Trump, the notion that “the people have a right to know”? Was this some Joan of Arc fantasy?

One can guess at some of her motivations by perusing her social media. What did she think the outcome of her actions would be for her personally, politically and ideologically? Given her age and the beliefs/causes documented by her own hand on social media, it is tempting initially to attribute her decision to massive naivety. However, this is an individual who was able to navigate her life so as to serve honorably in the Air Force, get trained as a linguist, land a well-paying job with a defense contractor, and a receive a Top Secret security clearance. Naïve and/or stupid people typically don’t achieve anywhere near that much by age 25. Nor can this be considered just a colossal mistake. The entire rigorous process of getting a security clearance, as well as the frequent and repetitive training classes required to maintain it, wipe away the excuse of being ill-informed on proper procedures and the consequences of not following them.

It is impossible to imagine that she did not realize she’d be caught. Did she care little if she was apprehended? She was certainly aware of the cases of Private Manning and Edward Snowden and how they’ve ended up. Did she not believe she was in the same category as those two traitors? Did it seem to her that Snowden got away with it by just by fleeing to another country? Was she influenced by the pardon recently issued to Private Manning by President Obama? (such that she believed no one would actually serve a 35-year prison term for such a thing).

Perhaps she envisioned herself not a martyr, but a hero, revealing to a grateful nation a document that she hoped might lend credence to “Russian meddling”. Maybe she was convinced there are enough people who agree with her actions that she would therefore be insulated from the harshest (or any) punishment? If so, was she suckered into a false reality on social media? Namely, that there are legions of people with the same beliefs as herself and therefore her actions were justified. All too often we’ve seen the effect of clever social media tricks that can make a group or following appear far “grander and larger” than they actually are.

Or had the very tender treatment of those who recently played fast and loose with their sworn duty to safeguard our nation’s secrets and confidential communications, such as Private Manning and Hillary Clinton, emboldened her? (James Comey could well be added to this list, although his fate is yet unclear) Possibly she remains certain that being “pretty, white, and cute” (her words) is enough to protect her from the worst consequences of her actions.

Maybe Ms. Winner is so angry, so hopeless, so furious at her life, family and country, that she donned the “paper” version of a suicide vest? Did she steal secrets, and distribute them in ham-handed fashion knowing this would detonate her career, her life, and her family forever?

A further curiosity is the timing of her betrayal. She mailed a secret document to the media at a time when the current administration desperately needs to make someone an example to stem the tide of leakers. The Justice Department is unlikely to show any mercy in her case. The poisoned atmosphere of “leaking” that currently exists may also serve to equate the severity of Winner’s transgression to that of Manning and Snowden despite the sizable difference in the volume of information compromised.

Make no doubt, life as Reality Winner knew it is irretrievably over, as is that of her family. No other aims have been achieved. The document she leaked has changed nothing for the better. Her act was self-destructive in the extreme, and without honor. That is the harsh reality.

References: Justice Department Release on June 5th,  Criminal Complaint Affidavit for Reality Winner

Footnote – Often times the subject matter of a new blog post doesn’t lend itself well to a menu of possibilities for a good title. Not this time. In fact, we had the exact opposite problem. When your first name is Reality, the choices are endless.