An Update on the Thomas Drake Case

Back in May, we spoke to The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer about her article, “The Secret Sharer” as part of our Backstory series. Mayer’s article discussed the case of former National Security Agency executive Thomas Drake who is facing charges of violating the 1917 Espionage Act as part of the Obama Administration's efforts to crack down on national security leaks.

In today’s Washington Post, Ellen Nakashima reports that the government has withdrawn some of the documents that Drake had been accused of leaking to a Baltimore Sun reporter. Legal experts say that this weakens the government's case.

UPDATE: on Friday, June 10, The Wall Street Journal reported that Thomas Drake will plead guilty to the unauthorized use of a government computer, a misdemeanor offense. The government will drop the rest of the charges.