Actress Rosie O’Donnell took to social media and praised Georgia-based contractor Reality Leigh Winner, who was recently arrested and charged for allegedly leaking a National Security Agency report on Russian election hacking to left-wing news site The Intercept.
In one Twitter message, the former View co-host applauded the alleged leaker. “Brave young patriot,” O’Donnell wrote Wednesday in a Twitter message that linked to a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising money for Winner’s “loss of wages, counseling”:
On Thursday, O’Donnell tweeted, “I support Reality Winner speak truth to power #resist #womenUNITE”:
A vocal critic of President Donald Trump, O’Donnell also reportedly confirmed that she donated $1,000 to Winner’s GoFundMe campaign. As of Saturday, more than $32,000 from over 770 people had been raised.
The 55-year-old comedian also defended Winner, insisting that she was “brave” and not “careless” for allegedly leaking government documents:
Winner was denied bail at a hearing in federal court Thursday and will remain behind bars as she awaits trial.
Last week, filmmaker and left-wing activist Michael Moore launched a website called TrumpiLeaks to encourage government employees and contractors to engage in the kinds of leaks in which Winner allegedly participated.
“Today, I’m launching TrumpiLeaks, a site that will enable courageous whistleblowers to privately communicate with me and my team,” the Oscar winner wrote.
Moore cited the historical significance of the 1778 whistleblower protection law, saying, “Patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement or the private sector with knowledge of crimes, breaches of public trust and misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates are needed to blow the whistle in the name of protecting the United States of America from tyranny.”
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson.