Federal agents recently arrested a former intelligence analyst by the name of Daniel Hale, and he has been charged with giving classified information to a reporter allegedly from The Intercept.
The arrest relates to activities that allegedly took place almost 5 years ago and the reporter that's said to be involved is Jeremy Scahill who is a founding editor of The Intercept.
The Intercept hasn't confirmed if they are the outlet involved, though they did issue a statement on the indictment of Hale, suggesting that leaked information on the drone program is of vital public importance and that activity related to the disclosure of that information should be covered under the First Amendment.
Hale reportedly faces up to 50 years behind bars for what he did. He also isn't the only one to have allegedly given information to The Intercept and then later been charged and sentenced for doing so, causing some to speculate on the trustworthiness of the publication. Both the Obama and Trump administration have reportedly been dedicated to making an example out of whistleblowers and cracking down on those sharing the truth.
Glenn Greenwald, co-founder of The Intercept, responded to the growing media attention and criticism for The Intercept with their involvement in the matter, suggesting that the finger should instead be pointed at the DOJ for cracking down on the freedom of the press. Admitting that they aren't the only news publication to have sources that were later targeted.
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