Secrecy News is reporting on legislation proposed by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to criminalize the unauthorized disclosure or publication of classified information "concerning efforts by the United States to identify, investigate, or prevent terrorist activity." Read the whole story here.
Apparently, Kyl's proposal is already generating significant organized opposition from liberal organizations. This is hardly a surprise, given just how much democrats and liberal organizations have relied on selected leaks to damage the Bush administration. At a minimum, I hope there are hearings on this legislation so that we are able to learn just how much damage has been done to the U.S. counter-terrorism efforts as a result of the New York Times' six years of leaking.
On a related note, Germany has taken the opposite approach, giving constitutional protection to the unauthorized disclosure of State secrets. Der Spiegel reports that "Germany's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that journalists cannot be legitimately accused of betrayal of state secrets for publishing classified information obtained from informers." See the whole story here.
Update: The Hill is reporting that opposition to the Kyl bill will likely result in watered down legislation. See the story here.
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