Reality Winner, the National Security whistleblower jailed for giving classified information to The Intercept detailing attempted Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, is petitioning for clemency.
Attorney Alison Grinter, representing Winner, held a press conference in Dallas on Monday with Winner's family, where she said she had submitted 4,500 letters of support to the federal office of the pardon attorney, which advises presidents on clemency.
President Donald Trump previously has tweeted his support for Winner, saying that her sentence of five years and three months in prison was "unfair" and "small potatoes" compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of classified information on her private email server, The Guardian reported.
"Our country was attacked by a hostile foreign power,” Grinter said at Monday's press conference. "Our national healing process cannot begin until we forgive our truth tellers and begin the job of rebuilding what was taken from us: election security, accountability for those who endeavor to undermine our democracy, and safeguarding the American right to government by and for the people. None of this can begin in earnest while we are still punishing those who tell us the truth."
Grinter also plans to include Winner's Air Force commendation for "meritorious service." Among the 4,500 letters of support, The Intercept noted, are "ones from privacy and press freedom advocates; an Obama-era NSA whistleblower; Jim Risen and Kate Myers of the Press Freedom Defense Fund; and a Republican candidate for Congress who met Winner during their [time] at the NSA."
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