Is An Official Secrets Act Coming?
From the Austin American-Statesman:
That’s the fear of open government advocates.They are launching a behind-the-scenes battle to prevent Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl from winning passage next Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee of an amendment that would essentially create an Official Secrets Act.
Kyl is planning to introduce an amendment to the Federal Data Mining Reporting Act (S236) that has nothing to do with data mining and everything to do with expanding the espionage statutes, according to Kevin M. Goldberg, legal counsel to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. . .
. . . But Cox Newspapers obtained a draft copy of Kyl’s amendment. The amendment would broaden the current Espionage Act to make it illegal to disclose any classified information concerning efforts by the United States to identify, investigate or prevent terrorist activity.
The proposal would expand a narrow law and would allow for significant jail time to be imposed on virtually anyone who discloses classified information, whether that person intends to actually harm the United States or not, Goldberg said.