New York: The Manhattan Federal Court sentenced a former computer engineer working for the CIA to 40 years in prison for leaking the CIA's highly classified information to WikiLeaks. The convict, Joshua Schulte (35) has also been convicted for possession of child pornography. '
In 2017, Julian Assange's WikiLeaks released a huge amount of secrets called Vault 7 related to the CIA. The leak revealed how the CIA had been hacking phones and devices overseas and using them as listening devices. Schulte was working at the CIA as a coder at its Virginia headquarters. He was found responsible for the leak and was arrested in 2018.
US attorney David William Denton Jr, who requested life imprisonment for Schulte said that the leak was 'most damaging disclosure of classified information in American history'. Schulte was found to be unremorseful in his remarks in court and complained about his treatment at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The Judge observed that it was Shulte's anger and spite that led to these actions rather than his sense of altruism.
Schulte is also said to have continued leaking confidential information even after being confined. Additionally, he was believed to have access to various images and videos of child sexual abuse in prison.