Billie Winner-Davis, Reality Winner's mother, told Business Insider on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, is attempting legal representation to aid the former Air Force language analyst contractor and Kingsville native Reality Winner with her case.
Winner pleaded guilty in 2018 to leaking classified National Security Agency information on Russia's alleged efforts to interfere with the 2016 election. She was found guilty of violating the U.S. Espionage Act and sentenced to five years in prison at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 2016 following her separation from six years of active duty, Winner was hired by Pluribus International Corporation under an NSA contract to work out of Fort Gordon, Georgia.
According to ABC News, Winner printed a classified report detailing how Russian hackers allegedly “executed cyber espionage operations” on local election systems and mailed the documents to The Intercept.
She was arrested on June 3, 2017.
Amazing! Thank you. My daughter Reality Leigh Winner is yet another victim of this admin. Doing hard time for bringing the truth to light. #FreeRealityWinnerhttps://t.co/wU0sg3LeRs
Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign violations and tax fraud in 2018, began serving his sentence in May 2019 at the federal penitentiary in Otisville, New York.
He has been under house arrest since July over coronavirus concerns.
Military.com stated that Reality’s mother sent a Twitter message that said “Cohen has asked another attorney to look at the case and for opportunities to help.”
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U S Military Spies and Allies Fight Fake News on Social Media
September 25, 2020
The U. S. military may be the country's warfighting machine, but its many personnel operate in a wide range of fields, including across social media, where U. S. officers are working alongside spies and allies not only to battle disinformation from foreign forces and trolls, but also engaging with users in sometimes comedic ways that are redefining their industries.
"I know there is some risk to my style of humor, but who wants Army leaders who are risk averse?" Lieutenant General Theodore D. Martin, deputy commander of the Army Training and Doctrine and Command, told Newsweek.
Martin has made somewhat of a name for himself for his Twitter antics, which are intended to reinforce official policy and boost morale.
Recently, the three-star general broadcast himself jokingly bribing military police with donuts, whipping up grilled cheese sandwiches with a blowtorch and parking his old "hooptie" in the coveted spot reserved for the flag officer's vehicle.
He sees his high-profile presence as an asset for his position and the service as a whole.
" I think it's a huge advantage to be on social media as a leader, and I highly encourage other leaders to get in the fight if they are not doing so already," Martin said. "Don't be afraid—fear is a bad trait for a leader."
He explained how his work humanizes his message, and makes him more accessible to soldiers, non-commissioned officers and all ranks down to the squad level, where unlike many in the top brass, most have grown up with social media. If they're using it, so should he, Martin told Newsweek." I want to be where the soldiers are at," Martin said, "and they are on social media." It also offers an opportunity for unfiltered feedback, both positive and negative. Sometimes, Martin said he felt the need to step in when he saw users posting information that was incorrect or misleading, especially as it related to the U. S. military."
You have to be prepared to correct misconceptions quickly on social media," he said, "so a false perception doesn't spread." But among his most frequent targets are some of his fellow servicemen." When you talk about disinformation—look no further than the Navy," Martin said in jest. "They're always putting out propaganda about how they're going to beat Army...nuts." And despite the online ribbing between the two branches, the Navy too takes its social media operations seriously.
For the U. S. military, social media has arrived. "It's no longer a question of if social media will be part of outreach efforts," Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, who heads the Navy Chief of Information Office (CHINFO), told Newsweek, "it is only a question of how. "Like Martin, he saw a need to go against the grain in a traditionally conservative institution gradually adapting to a new mindset on communication." Military organizational culture is generally risk averse," Brown said.
"(Biden’s) own chief of staff, Ron Klain, would say last year that it was pure luck, that they did ‘everything possible wrong’ (with H1N1). And we learned from that."
"There are estimates that by the end of the term of this administration, they will have lost more jobs than almost any other presidential administration."
That Rose Garden event — there's been a great deal of speculation about it — my wife Karen and I were there and honored to be there. Many of the people who were at that event, Susan, were actually tested for coronavirus, and it was an outdoor event, which all of our scientists r...
