A Trump basher in serious hot water is getting help from the president’s arch-nemesis, Rosie O’Donnell.
The TV comedian has donated $1,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for Reality Leigh Winner, the 25-year-old federal contractor charged with leaking classified documents to an online media outlet.
“Brave young patriot,” O’Donnell tweeted Wedesday, with a link to Winner’s GoFundMe page.
O’Donnell has been feuding with Trump for more than a decade. She called him a “snake-oil salesman” on “The View,” and over the years he’s called her a loser, crude, fat and dumb. Confronted with his belittling comments about women during a presidential debate, Trump interrupted, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
Winner is the first person to be prosecuted for leaking under a president who has been vowing a crackdown on leaks for months. On her social media feeds, Winner didn't hide her disdain for Trump, calling him an "orange fascist" and "Tangerine in Chief." Trump supporters have assailed her online, calling her a traitor, calling for her execution and even mocking her parents.
Via Twitter, O’Donnell confirmed for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Wednesday that she made the $1,000 donation and said she’s willing to do more. “I would love to help her and her family,” she said. “I would love to talk to the mother and offer any help.”
The GoFundMe account has raised more than $14,000.
It was set up Monday by Shirley Fink, of Fairfax, Va., to "assist with loss of wages, counseling from this traumatic experience and to be able to recover from this as Reality & her family rebuilds their lives." It's also for "possible expenses for travel for the family and anything they might need to help them through these troubled times."
Winner is being held in the Lincoln County jail, about 40 miles from Augusta, with a bond hearing scheduled Thursday. Before her arrest, she had access to classified National Security Agency material as an employee of government contractor Pluribus International, working at Fort Gordon.
She's accused of printing out and mailing a secret intelligence report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election to The Intercept, an online publication focused on national security and surveillance.
About the Author