Intel contractor held for leaking Russia info

The US department of justice on Monday charged a federal contractor with sending classified material to a news organisation that sources identified as The Intercept marking one of the first concrete efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on leaks to the media.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was charged with removing classified material from a government facility located in Georgia. She was arrested on June 3, the justice department said.

The charges were announced less than an hour after The Intercept published a top-secret document from the US National Security Agency that described Russian efforts to launch cyber attacks on at least one US voting software supplier and send “spear-phishing” emails, or targeted emails that try to trick a recipient into clicking on a malicious link to steal data, to more than 100 local election officials days before the presidential election last November.

The justice department declined to comment on the case beyond its filing. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the charges do not name the publication,

a US official with knowledge of the case said Ms Winner was charged with leaking the NSA report to The Intercept. A second official confirmed The Intercept document was authentic.