By: The Hill
July 27, 2021
A former Air Force intelligence officer was sentenced to 45 months in prison Tuesday for sharing top-secret information about the U.S.’s drone program to the press.
Daniel Hale was sentenced by Judge Liam O’Grady in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., for violating the Espionage Act.
Prosecutors had called for a harsher punishment, suggesting in a filing Monday that nine years would be appropriate for leaking to the media.
“For those like Hale, who unilaterally decide to disclose classified information, the existence of criminal penalties that are theoretically harsh but practically lenient is not sufficient,” prosecutors wrote. “A substantial sentence is needed also to account for Hale’s blatant disregard for the consequences of his conduct.”
Hale pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act in March, saying that he gave more than 150 pages of records classified at the top-secret or secret level to a journalist.