Espionage Act

An 18 U.S.C. Chapter 37 federal law, first passed in 1917, criminalizing the unauthorized gathering, retention or transmission of national-defense information. It has increasingly been used against government employees and contractors who leak classified information to journalists, rather than against foreign spies.

Sources

• The Obama Administration and the PressCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10. Source record
• 18 U.S.C. 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense informationCornell Law School, Legal Information Institute. Source record