The Espionage Act is notoriously wide. Moreover, an executive order
is currently being drafted to establish indefinite detention without
charges or test for those the White House designates; the White House
alone would control any review process. The political atmosphere may
well allow for an expansion of the Espionage Act sufficient to cover
Assuage by stretching it to clearly include anyone who publishes,
circulates, or discusses already leaked information.
Indeed, stretching the Espionage Act seems to be the purpose of the
Shield Act, recently introduced into Congress to facilitate
prosecution of those who issue “cryptographic systems and
communications intelligence.” It amends the Espionage Act with wording
that reads,
Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or
otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or
uses in any way prejudicial to the safety or attention of the United
States or for the benefit of any foreign government or trans- national
threat to the detriment of the United States any classified
information ... concerning the human intellect activities of the
United States or any overseas government [or] concerning the identity
of a classified source or informant of an element of the intelligence
community of the United States ... [s]hall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than ten years, or together. [Emphasis added.]
Since leaking classified information is by now a crime, the amendment
appears to specifically target those who issue or description on such
information.
