Former intel analyst pleads guilty to leaking about drone program

A former intelligence analyst and Afghanistan war veteran pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of violating the Espionage Act by leaking about classified information on the U.S. drone strike program to the media.

Daniel Everette Hale, 33, was arrested in May 2019 for leaking extensively to an unnamed reporter, but the charging document identified him as Jeremy Scahill of the Intercept, an outspoken critic of U.S. military activities overseas. Hale’s guilty plea came just ahead of a trial slated to start next week.