SCDP Supports Early Release of Reality Winner

WHEREAS Reality Leigh Winner, the 29-year-old former US Air Force intelligence officer, and the
contractor who discovered and leaked a classified report to the press showing that, despite US government
officials public denials, our own intelligence agencies had confirmed evidence of Russian-based attempts
to penetrate our states’ elections infrastructure and voter registration databases just before the 2016
Presidential election, was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, and thus not allowed to present a defense
as an American citizen, acting dutifully in good faith, that protecting our elections from foreign
interference is fundamental to the security of this nation; and

WHEREAS in a letter to Admiral Michael S. Rogers, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla
questioned why the National Security Agency (NSA) failed to provide America’s elections officials with
critical information about clear threats to our elections, stating, “As the chief elections officer in the most
populous state in the nation, I am seriously concerned about the NSA’s failure to provide timely and
critical information to America’s elections officials,” and asked, “Why did America’s elections officials
have to learn about details of this threat seven months after the fact, and as a result of a leaked document
from an NSA contractor?,” concluding that, “Failing to provide timely and critical threat information to
election officials places our democracy in harm’s way;” and

WHEREAS legislation has been introduced to reform the Espionage Act to to authorize appropriate
disclosure of classified information, to appropriately limit the scope of the offense of disclosing classified
information, and to specify which government agencies, including Members of Congress, are authorized
for whistleblowers to notify when it is believed our national security is at risk; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the Sonoma County Democratic Party urges President-elect Biden to
make commuting Reality Winner’s sentence, or pardoning her a priority upon taking office on January
20th, 2021; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Sonoma County Democratic Party also urges President Biden and
the entire California congressional delegation to support the passage of reforms to the Espionage Act that
will limit the scope of certain criminal offenses relating to classified information, and that will provide
appropriate restrictions and protections to whistleblowers.

Resolution adopted by the Sonoma County Democratic Party on January 12, 2021