Accused leaker Reality Winner wants to subpoena Homeland Security, states

The federal government contractor accused of leaking classified material from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media is hoping to subpoena the CIA, Department of Homeland Security and other federal officials as part of her trial.

Lawyers for Reality Winner, the 25-year-old contractor, disclosed in a court filing that they also intend to subpoena top cybersecurity firms and 21 states that are said to have been targeted by Russian hackers ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The filing was first reported by Politico. 

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Winner was indicted by the Justice Department last June for leaking classified material to the media. Winner is said to have mailed a top-secret NSA report on Russian hacking to The Intercept, which the outlet then published. 

The Friday court filing also indicates that Winner wants to subpoena federal agencies and departments involved in national security and intelligence, including the CIA, Defense Department, National Security Council, Office of Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security. The National Archives Records Administration and the White House Office are also listed.

It was Homeland Security that revealed last year that Russia targeted systems in 21 states as part of a broader plot to interfere with the 2016 elections. Officials say most of the efforts were not successful, though hackers breached Illinois’s voter registration database. 

The May 5 intelligence report leaked to The Intercept discusses Russian efforts to breach a voting software supplier and target state election officials with spear-phishing emails. 

Winner’s defense also wants to subpoena several cybersecurity firms, including FireEye, TrendMicro and CrowdStrike — the last of which helped the Democratic National Committee respond to the Russia-related hacks in 2016, according to the filing.

The reasoning behind the subpoenas remains under court seal. 

Winner faces one count of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, to which she pleaded not guilty to the charge last June. Her case was the first instance of the Trump administration charging someone with violating the Espionage Act. Winner’s trial date has been postponed until Oct. 15.