Ex-NSA official Thomas Drake to plead guilty to misdemeanor
Former National Security Agency official Thomas A. Drake has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of exceeding authorized use of a computer, according to papers filed in federal court.
The plea brings an end to a troubled prosecution that was one of the Obama administration’s most prominent efforts to punish accused leakers of classified information.
Drake had been facing trial on Espionage Act charges in what appeared to be a greatly weakened government case and on Wednesday had twice refused to accept the government’s offers of a plea bargain, according to people following the case.