Continued revelations involving alleged disclosures of classified information to the news media or to others who are not entitled to receive it have renewed Congress's interest with regard to the possible need for legislation to provide for criminal punishment for the "leaks" of classified information. Opponents of any such legislation express concern regarding the possible consequences to freedom of the press and other First Amendment values. The current laws for protecting classified information have been criticized as a patchwork of sometimes abstruse and antiquated provisions that are not consistent and do not cover all the information the government legitimately needs to protect. Certain information is protected regardless of whether it belongs to the government or is subject to normal classification. Information related to "the national defense" is protected even though no harm to the national security is intended or is likely to be caused through its disclosure. However, nonmilitary information with the potential to cause serious damage to the national security is only protected from willful disclosure with the requisite intent or knowledge regarding the potential harm. For example, under 50 U.S.C. § 783, the communication of classified information by a government employee is expressly punishable only if the discloser knows or has reason to believe the recipient is an agent or representative of a foreign government, but not, for example, if the recipient is an agent of an international terrorist organization. To close some perceived gaps, the 106 th Congress passed a measure to criminalize all leaks of classified information; however, President Clinton vetoed the measure. The 108 th Congress considered passing an identical provision as part of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, but instead directed the Attorney General and heads of other departments to undertake a review of the current protections against the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, and to issue a report recommending legislative or administrative actions by May 1, 2002. In its response to Congress, the Department of Justice concluded that existing statutes and regulations are sufficient to prosecute disclosures of information that might harm the national security. This report describes the current state of the law with regard to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, including criminal and civil penalties that can be imposed on violators, as well as some of the disciplinary actions and administrative procedures available to federal agencies with respect to their employees, as such measures have been addressed by federal courts. The report also describes the background of legislative efforts to amend the laws, including the measure passed in 2000 and President Clinton's stated reasons for vetoing it. Finally, the report considers possible constitutional issues—in particular, issues related to the First Amendment—that may arise if Congress considers new legislation to punish leaks or if the Attorney General seeks to apply current law to punish newspapers that publish leaked classified information. The classification by government agencies of documents deemed sensitive has evolved from a series of executive orders. Congress has, for the most part, let the executive branch make decisions regarding the type of information to be subject to protective measures. The current criminal statutory framework providing penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of classified government materials traces its roots to the Espionage Act of 1917, which made it a crime to disclose defense information during wartime. The National Security Act of 1947 directed the Director of the CIA to protect "intelligence sources and methods." The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 provided for secrecy of information related to nuclear energy and weapons. The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 gave the government the authority to declare a patent application secret if disclosure of an invention might expose the country to harm. National defense information is protected by the Espionage Act, 18 U.S.C. § 793 et seq . The penalty for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793 (gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information) is a fine or imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. Thus, under § 793, persons convicted of gathering defense information with the intent or reason to believe the information will be used against the United States or to the benefit of a foreign nation may be fined or sentenced to no more than 10 years imprisonment. Persons who have access to defense information that they have reason to know could be used to harm the national security, whether the access is authorized or unauthorized, and who disclose that information to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retain the information despite an order to surrender it to an officer of the United States, are subject to the same penalty. Although it is not necessary that the information be classified by a government agency, the courts give deference to the executive determination of what constitutes "defense information." Information that is made available by the government to the public is not covered under the prohibition, however, because public availability of such information negates the bad-faith intent requirement. On the other hand, classified documents may remain within the ambit of the statute even if information contained therein is made public by an unauthorized leak. Any person who is lawfully entrusted with defense information and who permits it to be disclosed or lost, or who does not report such a loss or disclosure, is also subject to a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The act covers information transmitted orally as well as information in tangible form. 18 U.S.C. § 794 (aiding foreign governments) provides for imprisonment for any term of years or life, or under certain circumstances, the death penalty. The provision penalizes anyone who transmits defense information to a foreign government (or certain other foreign entities) with the intent or reason to believe it will be used against the United States. The death penalty is available only upon a finding that the offense resulted in the death of a covert agent or directly concerns nuclear weapons or other particularly sensitive types of information. The death penalty is also available under §794 for violators who gather or transmit information related to military plans and the like during time of war, with the intent that the information reach the enemy. Offenders are also subject to forfeiture of any ill-gotten gains and property used to facilitate the offense. Members of the military who commit espionage, defined similarly to the conduct prohibited in 18 U.S.C. § 794, may be tried by court-martial for violating Article 106a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and sentenced to death if certain aggravating factors are found by unanimous determination of the panel. Unlike offenses under § 794, Article 106a offenses need not have resulted in the death of a covert agent or involve military operations during war to incur the death penalty. One of the aggravating factors enabling the imposition of the death penalty under Article 106a is that "[t]he accused has been convicted of another offense involving espionage or treason for which either a sentence of death or imprisonment for life was authorized by statute." The unauthorized creation, publication, sale or transfer of photographs or sketches of vital defense installations or equipment as designated by the President is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. §§ 795 and 797. Violators are subject to fine or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. The knowing and willful disclosure of certain classified information is punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 798 by fine and/or imprisonment for not more than 10 years. To incur a penalty, the disclosure must be prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United States or work to the benefit of any foreign government and to the detriment of the United States. The provision applies only to information related to cryptographic systems and information related to communications intelligence specially designated by a U.S. government agency for "limited or restricted dissemination or distribution." The provision protects information obtained by method of communications intelligence only if the communications were intercepted from a "foreign government," which, while broadly defined, may not include a transnational terrorist organization. 18 U.S.C. § 641 punishes the theft or conversion of government property or records for one's own use or the use of another. While this section does not explicitly prohibit disclosure of classified information, it has been used for that purpose. Violators may be fined, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, unless the value of the property does not exceed the sum of $100, in which case the maximum prison term is one year. 18 U.S.C. § 952 punishes employees of the United States who, without authorization, willfully publish or furnish to another any official diplomatic code or material prepared in such a code, by imposing a fine, a prison sentence (up to 10 years), or both. The same punishment applies for materials "obtained while in the process of transmission between any foreign government and its diplomatic mission in the United States." 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(1) punishes the willful retention, communication, or transmission, etc., of classified information retrieved by means of knowingly accessing a computer without (or in excess of) authorization, with reason to believe that such information "could be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation." The provision imposes a fine or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both, in the case of a first offense or attempted violation. Repeat offenses or attempts can incur a prison sentence of up to twenty years. 18 U.S.C. § 1924 prohibits the unauthorized removal of classified material. The provision imposes a fine of up to $1,000 and a prison term up to one year for government officers or employees who knowingly take material classified pursuant to government regulations with the intent of retaining the materials at an unauthorized location. 42 U.S.C. § 2274 punishes the unauthorized communication by anyone of "Restricted Data," or an attempt or conspiracy to communicate such data, by imposing a fine of not more than $500,000, a maximum life sentence in prison, or both, if done with the intent of injuring the United States or to secure an advantage to any foreign nation.