{
  "id": "RL31245",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31245",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105402,
      "date": "2002-01-16",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:17:00.658941",
      "title": "Protection of National Security Information: The Classified Information Protection Act of 2001",
      "summary": "The purpose of this report is to identify legal issues relevant to legislation introduced in Congress\nthat\nprovides for criminal punishment for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by\ngovernment employees and contractors with access to such information. The Classified Information\nProtection Act of 2001,  H.R. 2943 , would make such an act a felony punishable by a\nfine or a prison term no longer than three years, or both.\n  The language in  H.R. 2943  is identical to section 304 of  H.R. 4392 ,\n106th Congress, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001.  H.R. 4392  was\npassed by both Houses of Congress but vetoed by President Clinton, who cited section 304 as the\nreason for his veto. The Intelligence Authorization Act was then passed as  H.R. 5630 ,\n P.L. 106-567 , without the language of section 304. The stated purpose of section 304 was to stop\n\"leaks\" by public officials of sensitive national security information to the press, in an effort to prevent\nthe compromise of intelligence sources and methods and other sensitive information in the open\nmedia. \n  This report will first describe  H.R. 2943 , the stated intent of the Congress in\npassing the measure as section 304 of the intelligence authorization bill for 2001, and President\nClinton's stated reasons for vetoing it. The report will then describe the current state of the law with\nregard to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, including criminal penalties that can\nbe imposed upon violators; it will also discuss civil penalties, as well as some of the disciplinary\nactions and administrative procedures available to the agencies of federal government that have been\naddressed by federal courts, and will then assess any changes to the law that would result if the\nlanguage of  H.R. 2943  were enacted. Finally, the report will consider possible\nconstitutional infirmities that might leave the law vulnerable to judicial intervention under the First\nAmendment, the Fifth Amendment, or the constitutional separation of powers between the President\nand Congress.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Constitutional Questions"
  ]
}