Congress Passes Leaks Bill

Listed as part of the 2001 Intelligence Authorization Act, the media leaks legislation would criminalize the unauthorized disclosure of all “properly classified” government information to the press.

No public hearings were held on the new provision, which passed both houses Oct. 12. Attorney General Janet Reno is among the administration officials who are expected to support the measure.

The bill marks the first time Congress has expressly toughened its stance on leaking, making it a felony punishable by up to three years in prison.

While current law prohibits the disclosure of specific forms of sensitive information, including some national defense data, Congress has been slow to expand that definition to cover all classified documents.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and author of the measure, told The NewsHour in June the new penalties would not apply to members of the media.

“[I]t’s been said in print that this would impinge on the First Amendment rights of journalists,” he said. “Well, it’s not going to do this because there’s nothing in this proposed legislation to prosecute a receiver of the information, like a journalist, but to prosecute the culprit, the leaker of the information…”

But some journalists worry prosecuting leakers could pressure reporters to disclose their sources. And that, according to Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, would create inevitable legal issues.

“I could therefore see more journalists going to jail for contempt of court than I see leakers going to jail for leaking information to begin with,” Dalglish told The Washington Post.

Republicans in the House are divided on the measure. The provision was supported by Porter Goss of Florida, but opposed by Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde of Illinois as well as Democrat John Conyers of Michigan, the committee’s ranking member.

The Post reports that Hyde and Conyers wrote to Goss before the measure went to conference committee, saying the leaks provision “would grant the administration a blank check to criminalize any leaking they do not like.”

Opponents are calling for House Judiciary Committee hearings next year that could repeal the measure. President Clinton is expected to sign the Intelligence Act into law.