first_published_at,last_published_at,title,slug,latest_revision_created_at,charges,legal_orders,updates,categories,links,equipment_seized,equipment_broken,targeted_journalists,authors,date,exact_date_unknown,city,state,latitude,longitude,body,introduction,teaser,teaser_image,primary_video,image_caption,arrest_status,arresting_authority,release_date,detention_date,unnecessary_use_of_force,case_number,case_statuses,case_type,status_of_seized_equipment,is_search_warrant_obtained,actor,border_point,target_us_citizenship_status,denial_of_entry,stopped_previously,did_authorities_ask_for_device_access,did_authorities_ask_about_work,assailant,was_journalist_targeted,charged_under_espionage_act,subpoena_type,subpoena_statuses,name_of_business,third_party_business,legal_order_target,legal_order_type,legal_order_venue,status_of_prior_restraint,mistakenly_released_materials,type_of_denial,targeted_institutions,tags,target_nationality,workers_whose_communications_were_obtained,politicians_or_public_figures_involved 2018-04-06 21:07:49.386601+00:00,2022-10-18 16:19:46.698915+00:00,Former FBI agent Terry Albury accused of leaking documents to The Intercept,https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/former-fbi-agent-terry-albury-accused-leaking-documents-intercept/,2022-10-18 16:19:46.593627+00:00,,,"(2018-04-17 16:36:00+00:00) Albury pleads guilty, (2018-10-18 14:35:00+00:00) Albury sentenced to 4 years in prison, (2020-11-18 12:19:00+00:00) Albury released from prison after two years",Leak Case,"Department of Justice charges FBI whistleblower under Espionage Act (https://theintercept.com/2018/03/28/minnesota-fbi-agent-whistleblower-leak/) via The Intercept, Espionage Act charges against Albury (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4426747-Felony-Information-in-US-v-Terry-Albury.html), Minneapolis FBI agent charged with leaking classified information to reporter (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/03/28/minneapolis-fbi-agent-charged-with-leaking-classified-information) via Minnesota Public Radio, Federal documents outline steps FBI took to investigate one of its own (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/03/29/document-search-warrant-application-for-minneapolis-fbi-agent-records) via Minnesota Public Radio, Justice Dept. charges Minnesota FBI agent for leaking secret document to news outlet (http://www.startribune.com/justice-dept-charges-minnesota-fbi-agent-for-leaking-secret-document-to-news-outlet/478203203/) via Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The accused FBI whistleblower indicted by Trump's DOJ allegedly leaked secret rules for spying on reporters (https://freedom.press/news/accused-fbi-whistleblower-indicted-trumps-doj-allegedly-leaked-secret-rules-spying-reporters/), Leak Investigations Triple Under Trump, Sessions Says (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/us/politics/jeff-sessions-trump-leaks-attorney-general.html) via New York Times, Ex-Mpls. FBI agent pleads guilty to leaking classified info to reporter (https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/04/17/fbi-terry-albury-pleads-guilty-leaking-info-intercept) via Minnesota Public Radio, Minutes of plea hearing (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4439562-Terry-Albury-Plea-Hearing.html), As FBI whistleblower Terry Albury faces sentencing, his lawyers say he was motivated by racism and abuses at the Bureau (https://theintercept.com/2018/10/18/terry-albury-sentencing-fbi/) via The Intercept, Ex-Minneapolis F.B.I. Agent Is Sentenced to 4 Years in Leak Case (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/us/politics/terry-albury-fbi-sentencing.html) via New York Times",,,,,2018-03-27,False,Minneapolis,Minnesota (MN),44.97997,-93.26384,"
On March 27, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a “felony information” document formally accusing former FBI agent Terry Albury of leaking classified documents to a news organization.
Minnesota Public Radio identified the news organization in question, which was not named in the court filing, as The Intercept.
Albury is being charged with two counts under section 793(e) of the Espionage Act, a law originally enacted in 1917 to combat foreign spying attempts that in recent years has been used to prosecute government employees who share classified information with journalists.
In a statement to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Albury’s attorneys said that their client does not dispute the government’s accusations.
"Terry Albury served the U.S. with distinction both here at home and abroad in Iraq. He accepts full responsibility for the conduct set forth in the Information. We would like to add that as the only African-American FBI field agent in Minnesota, Mr. Albury’s actions were driven by a conscientious commitment to long-term national security and addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI."
Albury is the second person to be charged under the Espionage Act since President Trump took office. Last year, the Department of Justice charged NSA contractor Reality Winner with leaking a classified document to The Intercept. Winner, who is fighting the government’s charges, has repeatedly been denied bail and remains in jail pending the outcome of the case.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said that the Department of Justice plans to aggressively crack down on leaks of classified information to journalists.
Reality Winner, a 25-year-old Air Force veteran and federal contractor, was arrested and charged under the Espionage Act on June 3, 2017.
Winner is accused of sending journalists a top-secret NSA intelligence report, which showed that the NSA had collected intelligence suggesting that Russian military intelligence had tried to gain access to states' electronic voting systems in 2016. The Intercept published a partially-redacted version of the report on June 5, 2017.
On June 8, Winner was arraigned on one count of violating the the Espionage Act, a century-old law that criminalizes the disclosure of national defense information. Winner pleaded not guilty.
She was denied bail and is currently being held in jail pending trial.
The Intercept has said that the NSA report it published was mailed to it anonymously, so it does not technically know whether Winner was its source. First Look Media, parent company of The Intercept, has pledged to support Winner's legal defense through its Press Freedom Defense Fund.
Winner is the first person to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act since Trump took office. During the Obama administration, the Department of Justice prosecuted eight people under the Espionage Act for sharing classified information with journalists.