Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty To Leaking Secrets to the Associated Press 178
McGruber writes "Today, Former FBI agent Donald John Sachtleben has agreed to plead guilty to leaking secret government information about a bomb plot to the Associated Press. In May, Sachtleben agreed to plead guilty to unrelated charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, and to pay restitution to an identified victim portrayed in the images and videos he allegedly possessed."
The deal includes a prison sentence of three years and seven months, and "If accepted by a judge, the prison sentence would be the longest ever handed down in a civilian court for a leak of classified information to a reporter."
Re:Priorities (Score:3, Informative)
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. DeBrota, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Sachtleben could face five to 20 years in prison for the distribution charge and up to 10 years for the possession charge. Both charges also carry up to a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release if he is found to be guilty.
Not A Saint (Score:3, Informative)
Did he leak info that uncovered government wrong doing? No. Did he leak info that showed corruption? No. Did he leak info to protect innocent victims from harm? No. Those would all be excellent and justifiable reasons to break his oath and provide information to outside sources. He was just being a moron.
Not everyone who leaks information deserves protection or is a whistle blower.
Re:Congrats Obama! (Score:5, Informative)
He traded child pornography on numerous occasions with someone online. Both of whom were caught and pled guilty. They probably found evidence in their investigation which linked him to the leaks. These links weren't exposing wrong doing or malfeasance they were just straight up classified leaks that could expose undercover agents. It's believed he leaked them for monetary gain not even any noble patriotism. That's not a whistleblower, that's a pedophile who got caught selling classified documents.
Re: I'm shocked (Score:2, Informative)
The US doesn't have secret police arresting people purely for opposing the government like the KGB, Stasi, or Gestapo.
The US has 16 different secret agencies and many of them have police authorities. And Yes, they have arrested people purely for opposing the government, though certainly not on the same scale as the KGB.