A Georgia woman who leaked a secret report on Russian hacking of U.S. voting systems could get a tough sentence.
Reality Winner was preparing to face a judge Thursday in Augusta, Georgia. Prosecutors recommended five years and three months, which would be the longest sentence ever given for a federal crime involving leaks to the news media.
The 26-year-old former National Security Agency contractor pleaded guilty in June to copying a classified U.S. report and mailing it to an unidentified news organization.
Her arrest was announced the same day The Intercept reported on a secret NSA document. It detailed Russian government efforts to penetrate a Florida-based supplier of voting software and the accounts of election officials ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
U.S. intelligence agencies later confirmed Russian meddling.
US Leaker of Secret Report on Russian Hacking Faces Sentencing
FILE - Reality Winner, accused of leaking a secret report on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, is seen in a June 2017 photo released by the Lincoln County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office.
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA —