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Re: How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets - NYTimes.com

Posted by Marcus G. Daniels on Aug 14, 2013; 4:39am
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/How-Laura-Poitras-Helped-Snowden-Spill-His-Secrets-NYTimes-com-tp7583618p7583623.html

On 8/13/13 9:16 PM, Steve Smith wrote:
The story on Poitras seemed a little like a "puff" piece, as much as one can "puff" a story/situation like this.  

I'd say http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/798 section (a)/(3) puts a reporter that aims to a break a story about govt. agencies violating the 4th amendment at risk.  It's not just drama.  Is "publish" intended to be a standalone condition or must it also be constrained by the "safety or interest" condition?  I read it as a standalone condition.  Who would want to count on a judge in a secret court would side against the State department for a reporter?  Seriously?  It seems to me there's real danger for these two, esp. at the point they were breaking the early stories about PRISM.

"(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information—
(1) concerning the nature, preparation, or use of any code, cipher, or cryptographic system of the United States or any foreign government; or
(2) concerning the design, construction, use, maintenance, or repair of any device, apparatus, or appliance used or prepared or planned for use by the United States or any foreign government for cryptographic or communication intelligence purposes; or
(3) concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government; or
(4) obtained by the processes of communication intelligence from the communications of any foreign government, knowing the same to have been obtained by such processes—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."

Marcus


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