Alert 8/4/06
Alert 8/4/06
We’re headed for our most important, and toughest, fight, in several years.
The equivalent of an Official Secrets Act – a bill that would criminalize the unauthorized disclosure of classified information – has been filed by Sen. Kit Bond, R-MO. It is identical in wording to the legislation approved by Congress in 2000 and then pocket-vetoed by President Clinton after a strong lobbying effort by the media and others.
There are 11 co-sponsors, all Republican: Trent Lott, MS; Saxby Chambliss, GA; Ted Stevens, AK; Orin Hatch, UT, Rick Santorum, PA; John Cornyn, TX; Pete Domenici, NM; Robert Bennett, UT; and Lamar Alexander, TN.
Have no doubt. This bill would shut down any semblance of a free flow of information in Washington. It is certain to create an icy chill, if not a freeze, among sources and potential sources other than those engaged in official, sanctioned leaking. It will further tilt the playing field in favor of executive branch control of information. It is also likely to bring whistleblowing to a screeching halt. The National Security Whistleblowers Coalition has already come out strongly against it.
While the bill does not directly criminalize the receipt of classified information – indeed Sen. Bond made a point of proclaiming the bill does not directly affect the media, businesses, or private citizens – it is evident from recent events that federal prosecutors would move quickly with subpoenas for reporters and their phone records in any prosecution of a government employee under the bill. And even if we had a federal shield law – at least the one under consideration – it would not protect a reporter in a national security/classified information case.
Moreover, the bill is overly broad in its definition of classified information –“information or material properly classified and clearly marked or represented, or that the person knows or has reason to believe has been properly classified.”
I’m attaching three separate packages of information for background:
The text of the bill, Sen. Bond’s comments on the floor, a commentary for the National Whistleblowers by Sibel Edmonds
Some materials the Sunshine in Government Initiative developed in talking with Congress members in and around recent hearings on leaks and possible leaks legislation.
Some relevant materials from the 2000 battle that lead to the President’s veto.
In addition, there’s an extensive collection of stories and commentaries on the broad subject of leaks on the CJOG website: www.cjog.net (What’s New) and at
http://www.cjog.net/commentary.html
Please alert your members, share this material, and urge them to report and comment on this bill and its ramifications.
Pete Weitzel
