After blowing the whistle on Russian interference in American elections, and effectively ensuring a safe and fair presidential election in 2020, Reality Winner was promptly marked an enemy of the state and sentenced to federal prison. If this has you saying WTF, you’re not alone. With help from Reality’s sister, Brittany Winner, and her attorney, Alison Grinter, Sam dramatically recreates the story of a true American hero. #FreeRealityWinner
This piece was produced by Razan Ghalayini with Adam Howard and edited by Andrew Mendelson.
Watch Full Frontal with Samantha Bee all new Wednesdays at 10:30/ 9:30c on TBS!
#SamanthaBee #FullFrontalSamB #FreeRealityWinner
SamBee.com
The world takes vengeance on those that seeks the truth
ReplyFree Reality!!! Abolish the NSA!!!
ReplyI still don’t understand how they found out it was her
Reply“Reality is being treated as an enemy of the state” I love it.
ReplySilly!!!
ReplyGuys, I verified, and Reality exists. She’s real. I mean, she’s already Reality but she is also for real. Like, you know.
ReplyI smell Oscar.
ReplyI keep having to remind myself that Reality Winner is literally her name and not some metaphor.
Reply0:42
Replyvom.fyi
That was one of the first things that should have been on Biden’s agenda: A pardon for Reality and a recognition as a hero for Democracy. C’mon dems, what are you waiting for?? Scared of faux news telling that you’re setting free a traitor?? Really??? Where’s Manafort? Flynn?? Stone??? Want more??cuz the list is as long as the republican party can be.
ReplyHow about a pardon.
ReplyExcellent. My new pen pall
ReplyDoing the right thing often has a cost. Instead of being treated as a hero, she punished. A prime example of why so few people have the courage to do the right thing .
ReplyOh thank you so much Sam for doing a bit on Winner! I met her when I was in the military. You never forget that name. It’s been hard trying to get anyone to pay attention to it.
ReplyHer sister is right this is NOT funny
ReplySo she violated national security and didn’t actually provide information to the public that they didn’t already know. Everyone knew that already! She didn’t reveal a cover up (of war crimes or something similar) or something being kept from the public that they needed to know for their safety. She isn’t a whistle blower.
ReplyOkay, I’m sold. Letter will be sent by this weekend.
ReplyThe credits 😂🤣😂
ReplyI’m glad Samantha Bee is giving Reality this attention… But the comedy here is idk, distracting af, not helpful, not funny, in bad taste are a few descriptions that come to mind
ReplyIs there a petition to free her? She needs to be fully pardoned by President Biden. It’s outrageous that’s she’s in prison.
ReplyOi and send them to Obama and Harris, get him from all angles.
ReplyThis is still a thing? Sheesh. Get on that Joe Biden.
ReplyI also hate Donald Trump because he mocked a disabled reporter I’m disabled. I can’t believe I liked that ablest Donald 🚽💩 Trump. But then again it’s not the first time I’ve looked up to the wrong person
ReplySo, Republicans are supporting a genuine traitor to our Democracy, Trump, and imprisoning a genuine American patriot. Makes sense.
ReplyYou can’t blame Republicans for their consistency…..
Cassandra Syndrome: a woman tells the truth but it conflicts with the patriachy’s narrative; therefore,…
ReplyHandwritten letter done! Come on people, you have time too.
ReplyNow we need to do fundraising for attorney costs, a bigger PR campaign to get her a pardon, give her a medal, and some fun money to eat better at the prison commissary until she’s free! Heroes deserve better!
No, it hasn’t been a year since the election of Biden… and it was only 3 months since the inauguration.
ReplyThanks for highlighting this, it’s so important. Time to start harassing Joe.
ReplyYikes. What she did was laudable, but the way she went about it was extremely naive. If you want to leak important, secret government documents to a news outlet, don’t just send them the document anonymously. Contact the outlet discretely. They’re only going to treat the information seriously and with adequate discretion to protect the source if they can vet it and the source to know it’s genuine..
ReplyAmerica Vs Reality?
That tracks. 100%.
Replyreality star vs. Reality Winner
ReplyI swear if you end up pro war ima just leave
ReplySo those kids arents locked up in cages anymore?
ReplyDid see plan to run to China and Russia with top secret information? I am guessing no this is not right
ReplyIf anything, I’d say it was more patriotic to expose that the so-called president was essentially implanted by a hostile foreign nation.
ReplyIt took me way to long to realize that Reality was her name.
Replywow… I can’t believe I never heard of this brave lady. Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention! Thank you, Reality! Seriously. I’m German, living in Germany and I’m still so very thankful for your beautiful, brave heart.
ReplyPutin’s stooge Glenn Greenwald sold her out.
ReplySo pardon her but Snowden or asange they deserve whats happening to them I guess
ReplySnowden is better known is because he got away (mostly because he didn’t leak it to those bumbling idiots at the intercept). Both of them deserve pardons.
ReplySo: do not leak documents to The Intercept. They have no idea of how to keep informants confidential.
ReplyThanks for the informing me of this important person.
She does have a unusual name though. I though it was a fake name as part of a sketch, until I looked it up haha
ReplyShe got the Martha Stewart treatment, punishment reserved for women
ReplyWhile it’s great that Sam is giving Reality much needed exposure, this video is SO disappointing. She could easily have inserted more of the awfulness of this story instead of so much silliness. I get that this is Sam’s schtick, but this was a juvenile presentation of a very important story where an American hero’s freedom hangs in the balance.
She should’ve included the vile and disgusting people responsible, like Jeff Sessions and the despicable prosecutor, Bobby Christine, and the horrifying details about how badly her attorneys were kneecapped during the bogus trial.
This was an opportunity to get a ton of people on board by exposing the depth of this travesty of justice. Instead they skimmed the surface and diminished Reality’s story, opting for a not even funny semi-presentation. I’m super disappointed. Hopefully this at least encourages people to google her story for more information, and yes, support her by contacting Biden. She needs to be set free and officially honored.
ReplyI am writing the letter right now.
ReplyWhy isn’t Fox News covering this?
WHY ISN’T FOX NEWS REPORTING ON REALITY? ARE THEY AFRAID OF REALITY?
Reply“Reality is hilarious”
ReplyI can’t agree more. My whole life is a joke 🤣
If you actually want people to write these letters – make it so straightforward, simple, and direct that there are no further excuses. You need to provide the address to write to in the description, even provide a scripted letter they can print out and simply sign their names to. Do that and you’ll get a lot more people sending these letters in.
ReplyWhen Sam Bee does a 60 Minutes segment better than 60 Minutes…
ReplyThank you, Sam!
In my opinion that most or all of the republican party needs to be in prison along with trump and kinn folks of trump they are all guilty of treeson line them up cuff emm and stuff emm in the hole and throw away the hole
ReplyNo comment …
Replythis is the dumbest made up b’s I have seen in a while
ReplyI was waiting for her to yell NO POST ON SUNDAYS
ReplyBest late night host impression of Biden! <3 😀
ReplyI love how humble Sam is! Yes, we need to get this thing out there to HONOR Ms Reality Winner! What happened to her is a travesty
ReplyIs this real?
ReplyThis is bananas, she did such a service to her country. That espionage law seems incredibly unconstitutional
ReplyI’m sure it’s not a coincidence her name is Reality
ReplyI made a comment that the show had been lazy after seeing the cannabis segment. I take it back, this is good!
Reply“Iceland Unit – volcano spelunker: Samantha “Two Knees” Bee”
ReplyThere’s a back story here, I’m sure.
Thank you for raising the awareness of this injustice. I’ve passed the petition letter around.
ReplySomeone in the writers room of “Planet America” has definitely gotten sick of people not getting this “Subtlety” concept, huh…
ReplyEdit: I’ll bet you anything Sam made this documentary just as research for playing Reality in her biopic.
I still can’t believe that she was named “Reality”… When her surname is Winner…..
ReplyAnd she’s real? Life is crazy.
Important “documentary”, thanks! Also, loved ending credits especially “fourth dimensional consultant”. [tried sneaking that in, aye? ;~] 🤣
ReplyI remember her story. The Trump strategy was keeping the newscycle up, so many stories like Reality‘s have been forgotten. Thank you Sam for telling her story!
ReplyI love all the makeup and costume changes!
ReplyPass info critical of Russia to American public: rot in jail
ReplyPass info to Russia to use against American public: (see Manafort, Stone, Don Jr.)
Thanks for covering this. The development of the Intercept and the role played by various figures there such as Betsy Reed and the exit of Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras would be another interesting and closely related story.
Reply“Removing” over a hundred enemies from the battlefield… I guess she sent them to a farm upstate…
ReplyThank you for bringing this back to America’s attention. The line, “Reality is being treated as an enemy of the State” applied to not just the individual, but the concept.
ReplyI’ve been watching clips of her show for the past year but I’m bot as religious as The Amber Ruffin Show or Seth Meyers. However, her covering Reality Winner, I am going to be more dedicated to Samantha B. Thank you.
ReplyOn it Sam! 👍🏻
ReplyShe was under contract broke it and is now in jail soooooo yea.
Reply+
ReplyI will write my letters to Biden.
ReplyEnormous respect for Reality, but I really think her parents should be slapped for giving her that name.
ReplyThe Intercept people who blew their source should be publically shamed.
What were Reality’s parents thinking?
ReplyI’ve been talking about this for AGES I’m glad someone in the mainstream is still talking about it
ReplyGreat production Sam! Free Reality!
ReplyI can’t tell if this is a joke or not
ReplyI genuinely cannot stand the over the top voice of the director. Stop trying to over-produce…. -_-
ReplyWho the f*** names their kid reality?!
ReplyNow do Israeli interferance – aka AIPAC
Replyreading the credits was a beautiful experience
ReplyRelease Reality!!
ReplyOh my gawwwwd. “This is a really serious topic..” “Got it. So she was speaking in a British accent?” Samantha Bee is amazing. Truth-comedy level: a buhzillion!!
ReplyThis law was the reason Snowden left the country.
ReplyThis is kinda horrifying. I hope this story gets much more coverage/awareness.
ReplyNonsense! That girl is in so much trouble!
Reply“Correct” 😂
Replydieser name… ist so verwirrend
ReplyYall should follow her on twitter. She’s quite funny 😅
ReplyAt 09:05 did Brittany say “it’s been a year now” in reference to Biden’s time in office?
ReplyReality has been imprisoned for almost four years, so it’s not what her sister was referring to, but Biden’s been in office just under 100 days.
I got totally distracted by this.
And, Reality was railroaded.
Petition your government for Reality’s pardon. She did what was right, something that led to increased security around US elections protections, and even in spite of her actions, Russia STILL hacked SolarWinds and could have done FAR more damage than they did, we’re it not for Reality alerting the media and thus the public. You need better protections for whistleblowers in government. Self awareness and checks on power are essential to accountability and transparency in government. She doesn’t deserve being locked up for something that went on to assist the nation in protecting itself from further foreign attacks. She’s a patriot, not a spy.
ReplyYour funny you are, love your characters.
ReplyLetter written and another # added to the list:
Reply#Freeassange
#freesnowden
#sanctionsarewar
#EndTrumpsWar
#BDS
#freenavalny
#blacklivesmatter
#freerealitywinner
#freereality
The courts should be able to discriminate which leaks of government ‘secrets’ represents a threat to the country and which leaks are just an embarrassment to the administration. Clearly, this leak about Russian influence was only an embarrassment to T***** and she shouldn’t have been prosecuted.
Reply*Free Leonard Peltier*
ReplyReality Winner is the American Alexei Navalny
ReplyThank you for shining light on this amazing woman!
ReplyDid she say “Jilly! Help!” At the end? 🤣
ReplyToo late I was radicalized in my sleep
ReplyI’ve heard of Reality Winner from Democracy Now and The Intercept, but glad to see Samantha Bee cover this too!
ReplyChelsea Manning as well. Another whistle-blower convicted.
ReplyOne of the great injustices of the US justice system of the last 20 years.
ReplyEasy peasy, email sent to White House sent.
ReplyGood stuff. The two male characters portrayed by Sam are disturbing and sublime. Well done.
Replyah, any concern about the usage of “removing” in place of killing.
ReplyFinally
Replyi sent an email cuz it was easier but i hope we can get his attention and let her go. cuz let’s be honest, if it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t be in office right now
ReplyThis is sooo left wing propaganda. Clearly hate trump, and Russia Russia Russia, what about china? What about Hillary? Makes me sick views are one sided with nooo evidence.
ReplyIf you look it up, you will see that the coverage about her news 3 years ago didn’t get much attention at all, even CNN videos only got a few thousand views. And those videos, including CNN, were VERY vague about her contributions to the country and the democracy, and focused more on “nobody understands her motivations”. Obviously they didn’t want to cause too much public attention. So sad that, despite she was following Snowden and Wikileaks on social media, but she somehow decided to work with intercept instead of Washington post or New York Times. She got in the jail because the intercept didn’t protect their source!
ReplyI’m torn on this. On one hand this woman is being unjustly held for unearthing corruption and the attempts of a foreign power to undermine our elections, on the other hand she was part of the drone program and should probably face some kind of justice for that.
ReplySo Glen Greenwald is the reason Reality Winner was so easily caught.
ReplyThe Espionage Act was designed to protect against spying that would help hostile foreign nations.
ReplyHow does leaking about a hostile foreign nation’s efforts to subvert American democracy fit that narrative?
Respectfully, I have some problems with this story. Documents are classified for one reason only: They can cause harm to national security. It is not your job to decide when making knowledge public is more important than the risk to national security. But when you do have a concern, there are proper channels to go through. You are trained yearly on those channels. If you contact the office of your Congressperson, and say “I’ve got a clearance, and I’ve got something that looks wrong.” they will get you in contact with your congressperson, and they will listen to you, and whatever you say is legal. You are also trained yearly that if you instead just send classified information to the press, then you are breaking the law, you will likely lose your clearance, and you will likely go to jail.
ReplyI’m under the impression that Congress would have had access to the document in question. If they didn’t notice or did not care to notice the ramifications of it, that is on them.
No you can’t use the contents of a secret document in your trial. The contents are not what’s on trial. What is on trial is did you intentionally violate your oath not to make classified information public, or did you not? And she did.
If she first went to the oversight committees, if she went up the chain of command, if she went to her congressperson, and after that got nothing but stonewalling, and only then went to the press then I could have sympathy for her. But she went to the press FIRST. She ignorantly decided that she knew better than the entire chain, all while being ignorant of the deeper risks and the ramifications of laying our cards on the table. That is what ruins missions, and that is what gets Americans and our allies killed.
In the Summer of 2016, Obama released a redacted document stating that US intelligence agencies are certain that Russia is interfering in the 2016 election. This was covered in the news, but it was largely ignored. The public forgot about it the next day because of whatever crazy thing Trump said on Twitter that day. Ms. Winner exploiting the intrigue of releasing a document with classified details to restore that information to public attention does not make her any sort of hero.
MAYBE Ms. Winner deserves clemency. Maybe She’s spent enough time in jail at this point. That’s a difficult question. But I absolutely believe that she deserved to go to jail for what she did. We cannot have a system where “National secrets are secret…unless me, a lowly contracted employee has the opinion that it shouldn’t be secret. In which case, I can just violate my oath and mail whatever I please to the press.” Trump was a MONSTER. And it INFURIATES me to know that Russia brazenly interfered with the election as it did. But I would never even consider behaving the way Reality Winter behaved. She should not be treated as harshly as a proper spy, delivering national secrets to a foreign government for reasons like profit motive or in support of that foreign power. But she still deserves punishment for endangering national security.
Do u have proof that Russia rigged the election? or is it like farts in the wind.
ReplyThe American people should know when an unfriendly nation is attacking our democratic process. The people covering it up should be in prison.
ReplySam, thank you for educating as only you can. I think you may help this happen. #FreeRealityWinner
ReplyReality was thoroughly trained on Information Awareness and Cyber Security. She held a SF-86 to handle secret information. She was a low level peon who took it upon herself to deliberately spill confidential information. Now that she gave away secret information, the prosecutor’s criminal investigation and case has been ruined. Her feeble mind could not grasp the larger purpose of why the classified info was being gathered. She behaved like a privaledged child and hurt our national security with her good idea.
ReplyIt’s called being a spy. Regardless of personal intentions or motivations, her feeble mind did not grasp the larger picture. The populace does not need to know all classified information. That’s why we are a MUCH weaker nation than we used to be. Our adversaries learn of our capabilities and strategies through security leaks, and people die. Simple as that. How does China or Russia hack into our systems so easily? Security leaks like her. Another do-gooder a few years back released classified info on a particular upcoming drone strike in Northeast Afghanistan. He had personal feelings that he felt the people just needed to know about. The drone strike was a precursor to a mission. Al-Queda obtained the spy leak info and set up an ambush. Seven young men died from that espionage. All because someone felt they were doing the morally right thing by leaking classified information. Reality Winner made her decision to commit espionage and carried it out.
ReplyRemember, the lawyer is a
ReplyPAID SPOKESMAN.
gasps the country that INTERFERES EVERYWHERE ELSE. GO TO MARS SOON PLEASE.
ReplyThis is such B***S***. And somehow Trump, Rudy, Steven Miller and Mannaford spent lesser time in prison than Reality!
ReplyImprisoning Reality is a crime. Letter writing commencing NOW
ReplyThanx to Reality, Biden became the Winner. You can’t write this without it sounding Hollywood.
ReplyI loved Sam playing all the characters. So good
ReplyHonestly wish this little doc would make the awards circuit + get the exposure it deserves
ReplyI know this is very serious but I really appreciate the detail of “foreground object” and “artistic background object”
ReplyI am pretty sure this women had no plans to run off to China and Russia with this information let here free she did this for the right reasons
ReplyIm sending President Biden a pardon request for Reality.
ReplyNot acceptable. She is where she belongs.
ReplyThank you Ms Bee
Replythis, along with Chelsea Manning, and Snowden and Assange,
and the numerous political prisoners and whistleblowers worldwide
need all the support they can get, or we are all doomed to be lied to continuously
by those who “lead” us
I LOVE These pieces!
ReplyI’m so glad someone is finally covering this.
ReplyAlthough you made this humorous and entertaining (good job, by the way), this is quite sad. I hope Biden pardon’s her. Along with the letters, I think a petition could be more effective as it would get to more people via email or social media sites AND doesn’t take as much time as writing a letter…or at least that is what I think, I could be wrong.
ReplyOh please Its Just some Rússia nonsense
ReplyThe address is there y’all. Write your letters!! LETS BRING HER HOME!!!!!
ReplyI remember reading about this and thinking Hillary had done so much worse with classified informaiton. Two scales of justice. Sad.
ReplyReality Winner is one of the worst names I’ve ever heard. Who names their child that??
ReplyThat’s all she got, should have been 30 years.Traitor
ReplyR
ReplyFree Reality Winner
This would be so crazy if it were real. Almost had me there for a second. Cool idea for a story though.
ReplyI think it was wrong that she sentenced so long, if it was a Trumpster or elite there would have been no jail time. Thank you for doing this because I was wondering what happened to her. She needs to be released. That information was important Trump was a danger to USA and a puppet to Putin. I am glad she did. I consider Reality a hero!
ReplyI’m writing now
ReplyQuestion why is her name Reality Winner? 🤔
ReplyJoe Biden
Reply1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Wrote my letter. I just need a stamp and it’s off to the mail.
ReplyI got extra stamps!
Reply#freeRealityWinner
ReplyThanks for shining a light on this 💟 whistleblowers who act for public good like this need to be protected and rewarded not punished unfairly!
ReplyI know this is important and serious. Don’t take me wrong, but…
ReplyReality? 🤨 That’s her name?
How much time if no plea? Ask Barrett’s!
ReplyAsk Barretta!
Reply25 year old woman who swore an oath! ..
ReplyAm I, too, Samantha Bee..?
ReplyReality Winner is an American hero!!!
Reply#FreeReality
Hey Nancy (Pelosi), and Chuckie (Schumer), why haven’t you folks spoken up yet? She is a very big part of the reason you are in your current positions right now.
ReplyThis is why Edward Snowden had to flee!
ReplyGuys, I have never looked for a pencil and paper more urgently in my life! Samantha be you’re amazing, please keep doing the work that you and your team are doing, it is so important for the country. As somebody who tries to be a dedicated and informed citizen, it’s often hard even for me to look at the media, and your show provides me an amazing place where I can learn information, find ways to reach out and do more for my country, and laugh the whole time as well. Thank you!
ReplyImagine you are a news agency who out their source. What were editors at the Intercept thinking?
ReplySend Joe a letter. . .
I LIKE this plan.
ReplyShe should get a medal.
“this is not the piece to talk about the Obama drone program” So when is it Ms. Bee? Talk about accountability, huh?
ReplySad that it took 3 years 8 months and some for a media personality to finally take Reality Winner’s case seriously. She deserves to be freed, pardoned, and reinstated with military and civilian honors. She was unfairly targetted for whistleblowing!
ReplySidenote: The impression of the guy being interviewed is outrageously funny, hwo long can you keep that up? Hahaha
Reply