STUXNET
Prosecution? No.
Leak: Last week, the New York Times reported that Obama has accelerated a campaign of cyberattacks known as "Olympic Games" against Iran, temporarily disabling 1,000 centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility (pictured above) through the Stuxnet computer worm. The reporting was based on "interviews over the past 18 months with current and former American, European and Israeli officials involved in the program, as well as a range of outside experts," none of whom were named. Some political observers suspect that the administration leaked these details to emphasize the president's aggressive action to prevent Iran -- the country that Americans feel poses the greatest danger to the United States -- from acquiring nuclear weapons, particularly during an election year in which Mitt Romney has criticized Obama for being soft on Tehran.
TRAILBLAZER PROJECT
Prosecution? Yes.
Leak: In 2010, a senior National Security Agency employee named Thomas Drake was indicted for providing classified information to a Baltimore Sun reporter about a costly, invasive, and ultimately botched NSA technology program called Trailblazer -- charges that could have landed him 35 years in prison. Instead, Drake pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor (misuse of an agency computer) and served no prison time after the government refused to disclose details about the documents Drake allegedly leaked. At the sentencing, the judge called the Justice Department's handling of the case "unconscionable," noting that Drake had been through "four years of hell."
Office of the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran via Getty Images
SUBJECTS:
