Does the Espionage Act Grant Authority to Prosecute Journalists for Receiving Classified Information?
As Gonzales told George Stephanopoulos during the May 21 episode of This Week, “There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that [the prosecution of reporters for publishing classified information] is a possibility. That’s a policy judgment by the Congress in passing that kind of legislation. We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected.” Gonzales is apparently referring to provisions of the Espionage Act of 1917. Under 18 U.S.C. § 793(e), it is a crime to “willfully communicate” any “information relating to the national defense which . . . the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation . . . to any person not entitled to receive it.” Moreover, when two or more persons cooperate to violate section 793(e), that constitutes conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 793(g). Additionally, under 1
