Harold Martin, a former NSA contractor with a top secret security clearance was arrested in 2016 for taking home the equivalent of a half billion pages of physical and digital classified documents. He didn’t pass the materials on to anyone, just hoarded them compulsively in his home. Last week he pleaded guilty to one count in exchange for a nine-year sentence and having the remaining 19 charges dropped.
Martin’s lawyer, James Wyda, told the court, “His actions were the product of mental illness, not treason. . . . He is deeply remorseful.”
If I heard correctly, a couple times during the hearing Martin said, “It’s time to close the Pandora’s box.”
Courtroom sketching is a form of visual journalism or reportage drawing that is slowly dying out. Where once upon a time news organization each had their own artist covering a story, today a “pool” artist often sketches for all. It is a demanding and stressful discipline where the drawing is often done directly and under tight deadline.
After forty-five years of news sketching in courtrooms and congress I’m calling it quits. It’s been sometimes fun, sometimes frustrating, almost always interesting. I’ve been lucky to work with some really great people. Don’t think I’ll miss it, but a little scared of not having a deadline.
While I won’t be sketching in court anymore, I may continue to post to this blog from time to time. Not sure what that might be. I’m about to start a new assignment documenting infrastructure and construction. Could be interesting.
Love how you have captured all the different personalities !
Thank you, Meera. I really like your watercolors.