# Leak investigation

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

A government inquiry, often criminal, into the unauthorized disclosure of nonpublic information to the press. Leak investigations can include surveillance of reporters' phone or email records and, in the most serious cases, prosecution of the source under statutes such as the Espionage Act.

## Sources

1. DOJ rescinds news media guidelines: analysis. https://www.rcfp.org/doj-rescinds-news-media-guidelines-analysis/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260917203552/https://www.rcfp.org/doj-rescinds-news-media-guidelines-analysis/ (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 2025-04-25).
2. The Obama Administration and the Press. https://cpj.org/reports/2013/10/obama-and-the-press-us-leaks-surveillance-post-911/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10).

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/glossary/leak-investigation. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.