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Bureau of Prisons apologizes for blocking delivery of book to Reality Winner, sent via Amazon
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has issued an apology for rejecting attempted delivery of a book to Reality Winner, sent via Amazon. In an emailed statement today, a BOP spokesperson told me:
“Using the information provided, we consulted our subject matter experts. It appears Amazon is considered a bookstore and, barring any additional information, the rejection of the book may have been in error.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
On April 25th, I sent a softcover copy of The Tao of Pug (Penguin / Skyhorse), a book that I authored, via Amazon, to Reality Winner, who is an inmate in federal prison. She is currently serving a five-year sentence for leaking a document showing Russian interference in U.S. elections while she was working as an NSA contractor.
Delivery of the book sent to Winner via Amazon was rejected by the prison and returned to Amazon. In its initial statement, a spokesperson for the BOP incorrectly told me in an email: “Amazon is not considered a bookstore or a publishing company, therefore the Amazon package was returned to sender.” Amazon currently operates 24 brick-and-mortar bookstores across the United States.
How BOP handled the Amazon book delivery to Winner raises additional questions, including whether Winner is targeted for mistreatment. And, of course, there’s the big question: Why is Reality Winner still in prison? MSNBC’s Chris Hayes addressed this question in an interview with Kerry Howley, whose screenplay about Winner is currently in production (with more announcements about the film expected this summer).
The outcry urging President Joe Biden to pardon Reality Winner has continued to escalate, after Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on TBS produced and aired a 10-minute segment on the show earlier this month. Organizations including Amnesty International have called for President Biden to pardon or commute the sentence of Reality Winner.
As J. William Leonard, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and former director of the Information Security Oversight Office wrote for the Washington Post: “Winner’s actions have clearly been in the public interest, and I…
