Reality Winner, who pleaded guilty in June to leaking top-secret government documents about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, is scheduled to be sentenced in a federal court in Augusta on Aug. 23.

The first leaker to be prosecuted by the Trump administration, the former National Security Agency contractor's plea agreement with prosecutors calls for her to serve five years and three months behind bars plus three years of supervised release.

After Winner leaked the NSA report last year, The Intercept — an online publication — published an article based on it, saying Russian military intelligence sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials and launched a cyberattack against a Florida-based voting software supplier that contracts in eight states.

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State Election Board Vice Chair Janice Johnston speaks during an election board meeting at the Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

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Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com