The Older Sister Of Accused NSA leaker Reality Winner Insists The American People Have The Right To Know About
The older sister of accused NSA 'leaker' Reality Winner insists the American people have the right to know about electoral meddling and says her sibling is a 'patriot - not a traitor'.
Sarah Nicole Lopez also took aim at President for 'making an example' of 25-year-old Winner, who faces up to ten years in federal jail if it's proved she mailed a top secret document to reporters.
'This is not the Celebrity Apprentice, he's not just firing someone,' Lopez, 42, told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
'This is someone's life he's destroying.'
Her intervention came as her sister was told she would not be freed before her trial and prosecutors revealed she may have planned to leak ever more secrets.
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In custody: Reality Winner, the 25-year-old woman accused of leaking classified documents to a news outlet, was walked out of federal court in Augusta, GA, after being arraigned on Thursday.
Her sister says she is a patriot and the public deserved to know what was leaked
Remanded: The former Air Force linguist appeared stoic and calm as Judge Brian K Epps ruled that she stay in federal custody until her trial
Winner was ordered to be detained on Thursday until she faces trial on federal espionage charges after she allegedly mailed a classified report to a news website
Driven away: The prosecution made its case for Winner to be detailed based on the 'downright frightening' allegations that she may have other documents to release and had also inserted a thumb drive into a top secret computer while she was still an active member of the Air Force
Family: Billie Winner-Davis, Reality's mother, and her stepfather Gary Davis, were in court to watch their daughter being arraigned
Kremlin claims: An NSA document published by The Intercept reveals a Russian-backed effort to target local government officials and U.S.
firms as part of the campaign. This appears to be the document leaked allegedly by Winner
They also revealed how she wrote that 'I want to burn the White House down', and may have sympathized with Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
Winner, a decorated Air Force veteran who gained top secret clearance to work as an NSA contractor at the Georgia Cryptologic Center, an NSA facility beside Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia, made no public declaration as she was arraigned in federal court on Thursday.
But she formally entered a not guilty plea and her defense attorney told the judge that the prosecution was seeking to make a 'mountain out of a molehill'.
Now her sister tells DailyMail.com that if her sister did leak the secrets, they were ones the public had a right to know.
A whistleblower defense would mean convincing a jury that the government was wrong to designate the document a secret in the first place, and that leaking it was the only way Winner could get the vital information into the public domain.
However the Espionage Act has nothing in it saying leaking in the public interest is a defense, meaning her attorneys may struggle to even raise the argument in court.
Lopez, however, said it was vital that the public know the truth about the election.
Winner and Lopez are sisters through their late father Ronald Winner, an ordained minister and psychologist whose interview subjects included the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Bereaved: Ronald Winner, the alleged leaker's father, died last December at age 72 following a long battle with COPD.
Her sister Sarah Nicole Lopez (center) says Reality is a patriot. Their other sister Brittany (right) is a scientist.
Happy childhood: Reality Winner was a gifted student and promising artist who excelled academically and joined the USAF at 18, turning down a Texas A&M scholarship
Patriot: Sarah Nicole Lopez says her sister's actions show her love for her country, which she served as a decorated member of the Air Force
Lopez, a mother of three and gym manager from Brenham, Texas, said she is yet to speak with her half-sibling and doesn't know if the accusations are true.
But she added: 'I firmly believe that Reality is a good person. She's got a beautiful heart.
'I believe what she did, she did for a reason. I believe in her heart she was doing what she thought was right.
'I firmly believe that there is a reason she did this and the whole of the Unites States of America needs to hear that reason from her.'
Lopez said she was particularly angry to hear her sibling, who served for https://incitasecurity.com/why-is-crossfit-so-hated/ six years in the Air Force, being branded a traitor to her country.
She said similar accusations as well as abuse and death threats have been posted on her own social media accounts just because the pair are sisters.
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'If she supposedly leaked these documents, first of all why are these documents classified?' Lopez asked. 'And if Russia did hack into our system and play with the votes to get Trump elected, why is she the bad guy?
'Why isn't the United States government the bad guy for keeping this quiet from us?
The public has a right to know this stuff.
'I do not believe that Reality is going to be treated fairly and I do not believe that she is going to get a fair trial. They are going to go after my sister hard and heavy and make an example of her.
'Trump has said he wants anybody who leaked found and prosecuted.
He practically wants them damn-near beheaded because nobody is going to get in Donald Trump's way.
'I love her to death as a sister. I could not ask for a better sister. She is in no way, shape or form a traitor - she is a patriot.'
Fascination with religion: Reality Winner's home has a framed version of one of the Muslim religions' principal prayers, the Ayat al-Kursi.
Prosecutors say she may have sympathized with the Taliban
Devotion to Arabic: When she was in Maryland, Reality Winner spent time with an Arabic-speaking storekeeper practicing the language and he gave her this rug as a keepsake.
It is now in the room she had used for yoga
Faith: The Arabic-speaking linguist attended her local Episcopal churchin Augusta, GA, and had brought home a Palm Sunday cross before Easter.
She also had a small statue of Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god
Pride: Reality Winner kept mementos of her time in the United States Air Force including a picture of her time at linguistics school in her home.
Her sister says her service shows he patriotism,
Winner, a linguist and intelligence operative who worked as a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation, is charged with leaking classified information to a media organization.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-40255d70-4bd4-11e7-b65e-29b76accabb9" website Winner's sister says accused leaker is a patriot not a traitor