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Proposed 'Leaks' Legislation Threatens Public Access and Must be Stopped, Says SPJ
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Contacts: Ray Marcano, SPJ president, 937/225-2323 or rmarcano@spj.org; Bruce Brown, SPJ First Amendment legal counsel, 202/861-1660 or bbrown@baker-hostetler.com; Ian Marquand, SPJ FOI Committee chairman, 406/542-4449 or ian@kpax.com
INDIANAPOLIS — The plan to re-introduce so-called federal "leaks" legislation would tighten the public's access to important policy and national security information and fly in the face of First Amendment rights of the public and the press, says the Society of Professional Journalists.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., is preparing to re-introduce legislation that would put in place a broad prohibition on the disclosure of classified information, with strict penalties for government employees who violate provisions.
Government officials who break restrictions on classified information would face up to three years in jail and a fine of $10,000.
"This bill has already failed once because lawmakers saw it for what it is: a vicious assault on the free press," said SPJ President Ray Marcano, an assistant managing editor at the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News. "I hope our current lawmakers and the Bush administration have the same wisdom and stop a bill that threatens the free flow of information in a society that values a free press."
The bill passed both the House and the Senate last fall and seemingly has large support from the Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency. President Clinton vetoed the measure in 2000, preventing it from becoming law.
If passed, the bill would limit the information to which the public is privy and could pose many legal entanglements for journalists, such as grand jury subpoenas.
"This kind of legislation essentially makes a journalist who receives classified information an accessory to a felony," said Ian Marquand, SPJ Freedom of Information chairman and special projects editor at KPAX-TV in Missoula, Mont. "That means if some future Daniel Ellsberg passes on classified information to a journalist as a matter of conscience, and the journalist writes a story about that information, the journalist is subject to interrogation, federal charges, even jail time. I can't think of a more chilling scenario for journalists."
The Society last fall joined a large campaign against the first attempt to pass this legislation. SPJ, along with 13 other organizations, signed a letter drafted by OMB Watch that was sent to the White House. The letter asked President Clinton to block the legislation because of its threat to the First Amendment and the public's right to know.
The new legislation is scheduled for a Senate hearing Sept. 5. The hearing is expected to include one government panel and one media panel. A mark up will follow the next day.
"Journalists and news organizations have to speak out against the Shelby amendment before it's too late," said Bruce Brown, SPJ First Amendment legal counsel at Baker & Hostetler in Washington, D.C. "After Sept. 5, this thing could be sailing toward passage and implementation."
SPJ is encouraging all media professionals and other First Amendment advocates to send letters of opposition to members of both legislative bodies' intelligence committees. Lists of these members and their contact information can be found below.
Letters of opposition also should be sent to individuals’ congressmen and congresswomen. A state-by-state listing of these legislators may be found online:
U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Senate
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