Movie about NSA document leaker Reality Winner now streaming

ATLANTA — A movie surrounding the events of a former NSA employee who leaked classified documents following a presidential election is now streaming in Max.

Directed by Tina Satter, the movie, “Reality,” is based on true events surrounding Reality Leigh Winner of Augusta, who admitted to leaking classified documents about the Russians and the presidential election.

Winner is played by actress Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney is best known for her roles in the HBO series “Euphoria” and “White Lotus.”

Winner was a former Air Force translator who worked as a contractor at a National Security Agency office in Augusta.

The movie begins when two men arrive at Winner’s home in Augusta in June 2017 and tell her they have a search warrant. The film then focuses on the interrogation of Winner and the search of her home.

Its script was lifted directly from the transcript of one long conversation between two FBI agents and Winner during that interrogation.

PREVIOUS REALITY WINNER STORIES:

• June 26, 2018 - Reality Winner pleads guilty in NSA leak case
• June 21, 2018 - Ex-government contractor takes plea deal in NSA leak case
• June 5, 2018 - 1 year later, Channel 2 Action News revisits the Reality Winner investigation
• May 4, 2018 - Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Nicole Carr interviews Reality Winner’s ex-cellmate
• June 9, 2017 - Prosecutors say ex-NSA contractor wanted to ‘burn the White House down’
• June 6, 2017 - Channel 2 Action News has 1st interview with Reality Winner’s parents

In 2018, Winner plead guilty to leaking classified documents detailing Russian attempts to meddle with the 2016 presidential election.

At the time, Winner read a prepared statement acknowledging that she knowingly and willingly accessed classified information, took it out of a secured facility, and mailed it to The Intercept, an online news outlet that, in turn, asked the FBI to confirm the authenticity of the documents.

In August 2018, Winner was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, the longest sentence ever imposed on someone convicted of leaking information to the press.

“Reality” is currently streaming on Max and is rated TV-MA. The movie is about 83 minutes long.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

RELATED NEWS:

Reality Winner pleads guilty in NSA leak case Her plea agreement calls for her to serve five years and three months behind bars, though she will be sentenced at a later date.

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