CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR LEAKS PASSED BY U.S. SENATE

By: Todd Shields Measure Proposed To Protect National Security





WASHINGTON - With little public debate, legislation that would make it a felony to leak classified information has passed the U.S. Senate and appears likely to become law.



The measure, sponsored by Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., would augment a web of laws that already set criminal penalties for leaks that harm national defense.



Critics of Shelby's measure say the existing laws provide ample safeguards against harmful releases of classified information. They say the measure would chill the flow of information about government that the First Amendment is designed to promote, and could turn news organizations into enforcement agents as journalists are asked to identify who gave them previously confidential information.



Several said they were puzzled by the legislation. "It's so bizarre," said Jane E. Kirtley, director of the University of Minnesota's Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and the Law. "It's like something out of the Cold War."



Backers of the legislation say it is needed to stem continuing leaks that threaten U.S. national security. "Arguing that there are constitutional issues with the leak provision is a red herring for those whose agenda is open access to all our nation's secrets," Shelby said.



"The only individuals who have any reason to dislike this provision are those who will be subject to it: former and current government officials who knowingly and willfully hand over classified information to persons who are not authorized to receive it."



The leaking provision establishes penalties of up to three years in prison and fines of up to $10,000 for leaking classified information. It passed the Senate's intelligence committee unanimously in May, and passed the Senate late Oct. 2, without a recorded vote and with approximately three minutes of discussion.



The provision is attached to a spending measure that still needs approval from a conference committee consisting of House and Senate members.



That means House members could try to delete it from the spending bill. But congressional sources said they detect little sentiment against the measure.



The Clinton administration earlier expressed reservations about the provision's possible impact upon press freedom, but has decided not to challenge it. The White House, in its formal assessment of the bill, lauded an amendment to establish a board to oversee declassification of documents. Clinton aides were silent on the leaking provision, and said the administration is "generally supportive" of the bill.





Todd Shields (tshields@editorandpublisher.com is the Washington editor for E&P.


Other related article:



IT'S THE PROCESS, STUPID
Jane E. Kirtley in the Columbia Journalism Review





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