Lawmaker Considers Bill to Punish Leakers

Like this is really going to stop the leaks.
From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (July 25) - The Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives will consider drawing up legislation to help the Justice Department prosecute individuals who leak classified information, the panel's Republican chairman said Monday.

Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan told an audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation that deliberate leaks of classified information have "probably done more damage to the intelligence community" than espionage has. He said he wants to create a culture in which "zero tolerance" for such unauthorized release of information would be the norm.

"It's time there is a comprehensive law that will make it easier for the government to prosecute wrongdoers and increase the penalties, which hopefully will act as a deterrent for people thinking about sharing information," he said.

Hoekstra's comments came as minority Democrats demanded congressional investigations into the headline-grabbing leak of a covert CIA operative's identity during the run-up to the Iraq war in 2003.

The Justice Department rarely investigates leaks of confidential information, which often come from Congress members or political appointees in the government hoping to influence international policy.

It is only after we get the leaks of Valerie Plame's CIA cover blown, possibly by the White House, that Congress will start considering legislation to punish leakers. Of course, if anyone in the White House was involved with the Plame leaks, they are certainly not going to be prosecuted within this law.

The problem is that classified material is always leaked out to the press--by either the White House, Congress, the Pentagon, FBI, CIA. The purpose of these leaks is to influence policy issues towards a particular political agenda. The individuals who leak this information, does so with the intent to influence or redirect the debate of the issue to that individual's advantage. Any legislation to punish leakers, will limit this ability to influence policy issues. And you can bet that legislatures will not limit their ability to influence policy issues. If a bill does pass through Congress, it will be so watered down with loopholes, that it will be toothless.