By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com
WASHINGTON — An ex-FBI contract linguist with top security clearance is headed off to prison for one year and eight months for leaking classified documents to a blogger.
U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams in Greenbelt, Md. sentenced Shamai Kedem Leibowitz, aka Samuel Shamai Leibowitz, 40, of Silver Spring, Md., and ordered that he be under supervision for three years following his release.
Leibowitz, an Israeli-American lawyer, had been translating intercepted phone calls for the FBI from Hebrew to English and working out of the Calverton, Md. FBI office.
“The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to receive it is a serious crime,” David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, said in a statement. “Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to anyone in government who would consider compromising our nation’s secrets.”
In April 2009, Leibowitz leaked five secret documents relating to “the communication intelligence activities of the United States” to a blogger, who posted some of the information for all to see, authorities said.
“As a trusted member of the FBI ranks, Leibowitz abused the trust of the FBI and the American public by using his access to classified information for his own purposes,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely.
He had been described in numerous press reports as being an Israeli peace activist.
