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Recipients of "Leaks" May Be Prosecuted, Court Rules
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:42:39 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: TClaburn () cmp com Date: August 10, 2006 5:31:08 PM EDT To: dave () farber netSubject: for IP if you wish...Recipients of "Leaks" May Be Prosecuted, Court Rules
http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2006/08/ recipients_of_leaks_may_be_pro.html
Recipients of "Leaks" May Be Prosecuted, Court RulesIn a momentous expansion of the government's authority to regulate public disclosure of national security information, a federal court ruled that even private citizens who do not hold security clearances can be prosecuted for
unauthorized receipt and disclosure of classified information.The ruling (pdf) by Judge T.S. Ellis, III, denied a motion to dismiss the case of two former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
who were charged under the Espionage Act with illegally receiving and transmitting classified information.The decision is a major interpretation of the Espionage Act with implications
that extend far beyond this particular case.The Judge ruled that any First Amendment concerns regarding freedom of speech involving national defense information can be superseded by national security
considerations."Although the question whether the government's interest in preserving its national defense secrets is sufficient to trump the First Amendment rights of those not in a position of trust with the government [i.e. not holding security clearances] is a more difficult question, and although the authority addressing
this issue is sparse, both common sense and the relevant precedent pointpersuasively to the conclusion that the government can punish those outside of the government for the unauthorized receipt and deliberate retransmission of information relating to the national defense," Judge Ellis wrote (p. 53).
The provisions of the Espionage Act are not impermissibly overbroad orunconstitutional, the Judge ruled, because they are limited by the requirements
that the prohibited behavior be both knowing and willful. ... Thomas Claburn, Editor-at-Large InformationWeek, CMP Media, Inc. 600 Harrison St., 6th Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 tclaburn () cmp com 415.947.6820 http://www.informationweek.com http://www.thomasclaburn.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- Recipients of "Leaks" May Be Prosecuted, Court Rules David Farber (Aug 10)