The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

United States: Espionage Act prosecutions of sources for leaks to the press, 2009 to 2013

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization in New York that documents cases of journalists imprisoned or killed worldwide, published on October 10, 2013, found that since 2009 the United States Department of Justice had brought felony charges against six government employees and two contractors, including Edward Snowden, accused of leaking classified information to the press. The charges were brought under the Espionage Act, a 1917 United States law against disclosing defence information, during the presidency of Barack Obama. The Project On Government Oversight, a United States non-profit that investigates the federal government, said the department under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder "has used it more than all prior administrations combined."1

What happened

On October 10, 2013, the Committee to Protect Journalists published a special report documenting that, since 2009, the Department of Justice of the United States, under the president, Barack Obama, had brought felony charges under the Espionage Act against six government employees and two contractors, including Edward Snowden, for leaking classified information to journalists. Across all earlier United States administrations there had been three such prosecutions.1234

The report said the prosecutions, together with the collection of reporters' phone and email records in leak investigations, left sources reluctant to speak to journalists about diplomacy, national security and intelligence. One source told the report's author, "I worry now about calling somebody because the contact can be found out through a check of phone records or e-mails."1234

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a United States non-profit that builds secure communication tools for journalists, later said the pattern set a precedent that later administrations, including Donald Trump's first, could extend.1234

Status as of 2026-09-22: Ended. The prosecutions are cited by press freedom organizations, including the Freedom of the Press Foundation, as a precedent for later administrations' use of the Espionage Act against sources.4

What reason was given

Stated justification

The prosecutions were brought case by case on national security grounds, not under one stated policy. Matthew Miller, then spokesman for Attorney General Eric Holder, told the report's author, "It was never a conscious decision to bring more of these cases than we ever had. It was a combination of things."2

What changed for reporting

Journalists and their sources in national security reporting said they avoided contact by phone or email for fear of being identified through records requests, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.3

Timeline

2013

10 October 2013
United States: Espionage Act prosecutions of sources for leaks to the press, 2009 to 2013

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Barack ObamaotherPresident of the United States (2009-2017)
United States Department of JusticeenforcedFederal executive department

Sources

  1. The Obama Administration and the Press archived copyCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10, reporting. Source record
  2. Leak prosecutions: Obama takes it to 11 (or should we say eight) archived copyACLU, reporting. Source record
  3. Six Americans Obama and Holder charged under the Espionage ActProject On Government Oversight, reporting. Source record
  4. Obama used the Espionage Act to put a record number of reporters' sources in jail, and Trump could be even worseFreedom of the Press Foundation, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. CPJ published its report documenting the Obama-era Espionage Act prosecutions.Six government employees, plus two contractors including Edward Snowden, have been subjects of felony criminal prosecutions since 2009 under the 1917 Espionage Act, accused of leaking classified information to the pressThe Obama Administration and the Press archived copy, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10.Claim 63, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. Prosecutions were pursued case by case rather than under one publicly stated blanket policy.It was never a conscious decision to bring more of these cases than we ever had. It was a combination of things.The Obama Administration and the Press archived copy, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10.Claim 64, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. Sources reported avoiding contact with journalists for fear leak investigations would expose them.I worry now about calling somebody because the contact can be found out through a check of phone records or e-mails.The Obama Administration and the Press archived copy, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2013-10-10.Claim 65, checked 2026-09-22.
  4. The Department of Justice under Obama pursued more Espionage Act leak prosecutions than all prior administrations combined, a pattern later assessments compare later administrations against.The Department of Justice under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder has used it more than all prior administrations combined.Six Americans Obama and Holder charged under the Espionage Act, Project On Government Oversight.Claim 66, checked 2026-09-22.