Classified information

Identification and Punishment for Mishandling Top Secret Information The handling and use of any information are critical to avoid legal and political implications that arise as a result of exposure of such information to unlawful use. Federal statutes are explicit that those tasked with handling classified information should not have any unauthorized access or disclosure. The law spells the implications that arise in a case of these violations (ODNI 2). However, it is important for us to understand what is meant by top secret information, how to identify mishandled information, and the legal implications or punishments for those involved once proven that indeed they disclosed such information. The essence of this report essay is to discuss…

When in May 2013, Edward Snowden disclosed information about the U.S. intelligence conducting controversial government surveillance activities to newspaper reporters, the US government accused him of violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Specifically, Snowden currently faces three criminal charges. The first charge falls under section 641 of the United State Code for theft of government property. The other two charges fall under the Espionage act section 793 (d) and section 798 (a)(3). These two…

of Information “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” the First Amendment of the Constitution states. The First Amendment protects everyone, but specifically mentions “the press.” The Supreme Court generally merges freedom of speech with freedom of press grants the same rights to all. Due to this, the Court has allowed press access to criminal trials since…

NSA was collecting data from various allies such as Greece, France, and Italy. They also collected data from allies outside of Europe such as India, Japan, and South Korea (Edward Snowden: Leaks That Exposed US Spy Programme). The NSA also worked in part with its UK counterpart, the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), to share data uncovered by GCHQ though the tapping of fibre-optic cables (Hopkins). All of this leaked information and more was revealed through Edward Snowden.…

Manning and Assange, they each leaked classified documents to the public under the name of free speech. Is this actually classified as free speech? According to J.S Mills, if it doesn’t cause physical harm to a populace, then it is classified as ‘free speech’ and so the leakage of government documents is allowed in accordance to Mills’ theory on free speech. Mills does not include psychological harm to anyone in his definition of free speech which also brings forth flaws in his definition of…

leaked more than 250,000 cables exposing secrets crucial to U.S national security. On the other hand, through his actions, he purposefully obtained information crucial for national defense with the main intent being to maliciously expose highly guarded national security secrets, (Sanchez Estop & Juan Domingo, 2014). Another element of white collar crime is mail and wire fraud. The defendant…

Today we live in a world where not one thing gets unnoticed or unseen. We share our daily experiences on social media; from our morning breakfast to our late night party, or Netflix show. Everything is available for people around the world can see a glimpse of our lifestyle. It is solely in our hands on what and how much information we share with the virtual world. Similar is the case with democratic governments. Democracy can be simply defined as the government of the people, for the people,…

He claims the book is based on over one-thousand interviews conducted with government employees and other influential people in the field. Harris discloses how crucial it is for people who work for the government to refrain from sharing classified information, but explains that the line between classified and public knowledge becomes blurred. For this reason, Harris agreed to not disclose the identities of many of his sources. However, he promises that when he needs to cite anonymous sources, he…

According to George Gao, 56% of Americans disapprove of the NSA collecting phone records and text messages, but that means the other, almost half, of Americans feel the need to give up some of their freedom to protect national security. (Civil Liberty in America, May 29 2015) WikiLeaks, the notorious website that finds and exposes government information, poses a real threat to the national security. While a popular website today due to its high credibility, it has revealed highly classified…

Whistleblowing When most people think of whistleblowing they might think about recent events surrounding the NSA leaks by Edward Snowden outlining international and domestic surveillance programs. Or of the physical act of blowing a whistle by a referee to indicate a foul. Either way, whistleblowing is the indication of wrongdoing by someone. This paper focuses on the traditional form of whistleblowing by calling attention to governmental or organizational wrongdoing and some of the arguments…