News Intelligence Analysis
The Espionage Act
18 USC 793 and 794
Will the Defendants in the Plame Case
Be Prosecuted Under these two Sections?
[Yurica Report Note:
Section 793 (e) and
794 (c) have been emphasized by us]
Section 793. Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
(a) Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting
the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the
information is to be used to the injury of the United States,
or to
the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon, enters, flies
over,
or otherwise obtains information concerning any vessel, aircraft,
work of defense, navy yard, naval station, submarine base, fueling
station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard, canal, railroad,
arsenal, camp, factory, mine, telegraph, telephone, wireless,
or
signal station, building, office, research laboratory or station
or
other place connected with the national defense owned or
constructed, or in progress of construction by the United States
or
under the control of the United States, or of any of its officers,
departments, or agencies, or within the exclusive jurisdiction
of
the United States, or any place in which any vessel, aircraft,
arms, munitions, or other materials or instruments for use in
time
of war are being made, prepared, repaired, stored, or are the
subject of research or development, under any contract or agreement
with the United States, or any department or agency thereof,
or
with any person on behalf of the United States, or otherwise
on
behalf of the United States, or any prohibited place so designated
by the President by proclamation in time of war or in case of
national emergency in which anything for the use of the Army,
Navy,
or Air Force is being prepared or constructed or stored,
information as to which prohibited place the President has
determined would be prejudicial to the national defense; or
(b) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent
or
reason to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts
to
copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic
negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance,
document, writing, or note of anything connected with the national
defense; or
(c) Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or
agrees or attempts to receive or obtain from any person, or from
any source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal
book,
sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map,
model, instrument, appliance, or note, of anything connected
with
the national defense, knowing or having reason to believe, at
the
time he receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts to receive
or
obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made,
or
disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this
chapter; or
(d) Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control
over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book,
signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint,
plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to
the
national defense, or information relating to the national defense
which information the possessor has reason to believe could be
used
to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any
foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or
causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts
to
communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated,
delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled
to
receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver
it
on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled
to receive it; or
(e) Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to,
or
control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,
photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model,
instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense,
or
information relating to the national defense which information
the
possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of
the
United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully
communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated,
delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver,
transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted
the
same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains
the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of
the
United States entitled to receive it; or
(f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession
or
control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,
photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model,
instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the
national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same
to
be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone
in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted,
or
destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally
removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone
in
violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or
destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft,
abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer -
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten
years, or both.
(g) If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the
foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such
persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each
of
the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment
provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.
(h)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall
forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of
State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds
the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign
government, or any faction or party or military or naval force
within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized
by the
United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes
of this subsection, the term ''State'' includes a State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a
conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the
defendant forfeit to the United States all property described
in
paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) The provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e) through (p)
of section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and
Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853(b), (c), and (e)-(p)) shall
apply to -
(A) property subject to forfeiture under this subsection;
(B) any seizure or disposition of such property; and
(C) any administrative or judicial proceeding in relation to
such property,
if not inconsistent with this subsection.
(4) Notwithstanding section 524(c) of title 28, there shall be
deposited in the Crime Victims Fund in the Treasury all amounts
from the forfeiture of property under this subsection remaining
after the payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale authorized
by
law.
Section 794. Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government
(a) Whoever, with intent or reason
to believe that it is to be
used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of
a
foreign nation, communicates, delivers, or transmits, or attempts
to communicate, deliver, or transmit, to any foreign government,
or
to any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign
country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States,
or to any representative, officer, agent, employee, subject,
or
citizen thereof, either directly or indirectly, any document,
writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic
negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, note, instrument, appliance,
or information relating to the national defense, shall be punished
by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life,
except that the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless
the
jury or, if there is no jury, the court, further finds that the
offense resulted in the identification by a foreign power (as
defined in section 101(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act of 1978) of an individual acting as an agent of the United
States and consequently in the death of that individual, or
directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or
satellites, early warning systems, or other means of defense
or
retaliation against large-scale attack; war plans; communications
intelligence or cryptographic information; or any other major
weapons system or major element of defense strategy.
(b) Whoever, in time of war, with intent that the same shall
be
communicated to the enemy, collects, records, publishes, or
communicates, or attempts to elicit any information with respect
to
the movement, numbers, description, condition, or disposition
of
any of the Armed Forces, ships, aircraft, or war materials of
the
United States, or with respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed
plans or conduct of any naval or military operations, or with
respect to any works or measures undertaken for or connected
with,
or intended for the fortification or defense of any place, or
any
other information relating to the public defense, which might
be
useful to the enemy, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment
for any term of years or for life.
(c) If two or more persons conspire to violate this section,
and
one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of
the
conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject
to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object
of
such conspiracy.
(d)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall
forfeit to the United States irrespective of any provision of
State
law -
(A) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds
the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of
such violation, and
(B) any of the person's property used, or intended to be used,
in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission
of, such violation.
For the purposes of this subsection, the term ''State'' includes
a
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a
conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the
defendant forfeit to the United States all property described
in
paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(3) The provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (e) through (p)
of
section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control
Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853(b), (c), and (e)-(p)) shall apply
to -
(A) property subject to forfeiture under this subsection;
(B) any seizure or disposition of such property; and
(C) any administrative or judicial proceeding in relation to
such property,
if not inconsistent with this subsection.
(4) Notwithstanding section 524(c) of title 28, there shall be
deposited in the Crime Victims Fund in the Treasury all amounts
from the forfeiture of property under this subsection remaining
after the payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale authorized
by
law.
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