Federal prison sentence for 45 months has been handed down to a whistleblower who revealed top-secret information about America's drone warfare program.AdvertisementDaniel Hale, 33 years old, was formerly an intelligence analyst for U.S. Air Force. He pleaded guilty to transmitting and retaining national defense information in March. Judge Liam OGrady sentenced him in the U.S. District Court of Alexandria, Va. on Tuesday.More than 150 pages of classified information were leaked to a journalist by Hale in 2014. This revealed details about the government's unmanned aerial vehicle operations. Hale took the documents from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, where he was working as a contractor at the time.Although it was never officially confirmed, Politico reports that Hales' activities and the records he hacked make clear that the reporter was Jeremy Scahill from the Intercept. The Drone Papers is an investigative report by the outlet into the government's activities. Scahill also wrote a book on drone warfare in which he detailed his findings. Later, Hale stated that he was guilt-ridden about his participation in drone strikes abroad and forced him to share the information.Federal prosecutors had sought to charge Hale under the Espionage Act. This would have resulted in him being sentenced to the maximum penalty, which would have put him behind bars for 11 years.Politico reports that Hale seemed tense through Tuesday's judicial proceedings, but did not show any remorse over his disclosures.I'm here because I took something that was not mine. Hale stated that I was awarded a medal and compensation for my actions. I could not continue living in a world where people pretend that things aren't true. Your honor, I am sorry for choosing to live in a world where people pretend that things aren't happening.AdvertisementThroughout both the Obama and Trump administrations, the government has proceeded to ramp up an aggressive crackdown on whistleblowersseeking to impose ever harsher punishments for government operatives who disclose classified information to reporters. Reality Winner, NSA whistleblower, was released recently from prison after serving a majority a 63 month sentence for leaking classified information regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
