After pleading guilty, Daniel Hale, an ex-intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force, was sentenced Tuesday to 45 months imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to leaking a series of government documents that exposed the internal workings of the U.S. military's drone program and the severe civilian costs. The 33-year old Hale, who was appearing in Alexandria, Virginia's courtroom, said that he believes it was necessary to dispel a lie that drone warfare keeps you safe and that your life is more important than that of others. I could not continue living in a world where people pretend that everything was normal. Your honor, please forgive me for choosing to live in a world where people pretend that things aren't happening.OGrady stated that Hale was not being charged for speaking out about drone programs that have killed innocent people. He also said that he could have been a whistleblower and not be subject to federal prosecution. This conviction is yet another victory for the U.S. government's ongoing fight against national security leaks that has extended across multiple presidents. A grand jury indicted Hale in 2019. He was arrested on several counts related to the unauthorized release of intelligence and national defense information, and the theft government property. Hale was linked to documents about how the government selects drone strike targets as well as information detailing how many people are killed even though they are not intended targets. Also, Hale was involved in the release of a secret rulebook that details how the U.S. government places people on its vast network of watchlists. Advocate groups have hailed the publication of the rulebook as a victory of the post-9/11 era, despite it being kept secret for so long.The government has strongly implied that The Intercept received Hales disclosures since his indictment, more than two decades ago. Intercept Editor in Chief Betsy Reed stated Tuesday that Daniel Hale would spend many years behind bars for leaking documents the government claimed were published by The Intercept. These documents exposed the truth about U.S. secretive, murderous drone warfare, including the fact that civilians were killed in greater numbers than previously thought. The Intercept won't comment on our sources. The Intercept will not comment on our sources. These rules allow anyone, even U.S. citizens to be stopped from flying, detained at airports, and denied the right to challenge government statements about them. In March, Hale pleaded guilty to one charge under the Espionage Act after the watchlisting rules were made public. This led to numerous legal actions and significant court victories in support of civil liberties. The controversial 1917 law states that defendants can't use their efforts to inform public about government operations and actions as a defense to leaking classified information. The anti-spying statute was used by President Barack Obama to punish government employees who provided national security stories, especially those that were not favorable for the government. This practice was continued by the Trump administration and continues to this day by the Biden administration. Although the court rejected the prosecution's most extreme demands today, Hales's sentence in prison is a tragic example of how government misuses Espionage Act to penalise journalistic sources as spy. This practice damages human rights, press freedom and democracy Reed stated in her statement. In a statement after the sentencing Hales' support team stated that everyone agreed that #DanielHale was not a spy. The sentencing of Hales is an honorable decision. He was punished for speaking his mind and telling the truth. Hale vividly recalled his personal experience in locating drone targets. Some estimates suggest that U.S. drone strikes abroad by the military and the CIA have resulted in the deaths of between 9,000 to 17,000 people, including up to 2,200 children and several U.S citizens. These estimates do not reflect the true cost of distant American warfare. Hale wrote to the court last week that the U.S. military uses the practice of labeling all people killed in such operations as enemy killed in action, unless proven otherwise. On Tuesday, Hale stated that drone warfare can sometimes result in nine out of ten people being killed. To do your job, you must kill a part of your conscience.Hales' defense lawyers stated that Hales felt an extraordinary sense of guilt for his complicity in unjustifiable killings by the drone program. They also argued that Hales was compelled to disclose his involvement because of a moral obligation. The government prosecutors tried to refute this view in motions filed over the last week. They described Hale as an egomaniac who took risks to gain favor with journalists he admires and compared his justifications with those of a heroin dealer. The government argued that Hale should be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison. It repeatedly referenced secret evidence that was not available for public inspection that purported to prove that Hales disclosures were circulated online by the Islamic State, thereby putting American lives in danger. Harry P. Cooper, a former CIA senior official and noted expert on classified materials, provided a declaration in Hales' case. This was a starkly different interpretation. Cooper stated in a sworn statement that the disclosure of these documents did not pose a substantial risk to the United States or national security at the time they were made public. Cooper stated in a sworn declaration that the disclosure of these documents did not present any substantial risk to national security or the United States. Kromberg stated that we don't know if this information has been used or will be used by terrorists or any other foreign adversaries in the future. We can be certain that Hales' actions have caused harm to American security and safety in the past and will continue to do so for the future.It is wrong to kill but especially the defenseless.
