The White House has won a conviction of a former CIA officer who leaked details of top-secret mission to give faulty nuclear plans to Iran to a New York Times reporter.

Jeffrey Sterling had an emotionless express as he was declared guilty on all nine criminal counts at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., but his wife sobbed behind him, according to a Washington Post report. He will be sentenced April 24, and will be free until then.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement that the verdict was “just and appropriate,” and said that Sterling’s leak placed lives at risk. Authorities say the leak killed off an option the United States had for slowing the development of Iran’s nuclear program.

This case was unique in that it resulted in a showdown between the White House and the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who broke the story. The Justice Department ultimately decided not to force the reporter to testify, and was able to secure a conviction anyway.

It took jurors a day and a portion of two others to reach the verdict. Earlier, they had not been able to agree on some of the counts.

The Obama Administration has aggressively pursued leakers, prosecuting more individuals than all of its predecessors combined. Many of them resulted in pleas that were often favorable toward the defendant, including a former manager at the National Security Agency who avoided prison time altogether.

But the Justice Department has had its share of victories as well, winning a two-and-a-half year sentence against former CIA officer John Kiriakou who was convicted of leaking an operative’s name to a reporter.

Sterling was charged under the Espionage Act in 2010. Authorities accused him of leaking information to New York Times report and author James Risen, who included the information in his 2006 book, “State of War.” Prosecutors argued that Sterling — who is black — was trying to get revenge on the CIA after he had been fired in the early 2000s, prompting Sterling to sue for discrimination.

Federal prosecutors initially wanted to subpoena Risen, who would not agree to testify. The court decided that Risen should be compelled to testify, but the Justice Department eventually dropped its request. Risen said he was ready to go to jail in order to protect his sources.