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 spies working for other governments.

Sources

1. The Obama Administration and the Press archived copyCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10. Source record
2. 18 U.S.C. 793 - Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information archived copyCornell Law School, Legal Information Institute. Source record