by
Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar
Michigan Democratic Congress members Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar are co-sponsoring legislation to reform the Espionage Act of 1917 to better protect whistleblowers, journalists, and the American public when exposing government corruption and wrongdoing.
The legislation, introduced Thursday and titled the Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act, is named after Daniel Ellsberg, who exposed government lies about the Vietnam War when he released what became known as the Pentagon Papers.
Under current law, prosecutors have used the Espionage Act to silence dissent and undermine government transparency in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the fundamental right to due process, according to a press release issued by Tlaib.
“Alerting the public to government wrongdoing is not a crime,” Tlaib said in a statement. “The Espionage Act has been abused by administrations of both parties to target whistleblowers and journalists for sharing critically important information with the public. With whistleblowers, journalists, and civil liberties under significant attack and government decision-making shrouded in increasing secrecy, reining in the abuses of the Espionage Act could not be more urgent.”
The proposed legislation would:
►Limit the scope of the Espionage Act to government employees with a legal duty to protect classified information and foreign agents. This would prevent the use of the law against publishers, journalists, or members of the general public.
►Increase due process standards and safeguards for whistleblowers who alert the public to wrongdoing, war crimes, and other abuses of power by creating an affirmative public interest defense and requiring the government prove that a defendant acted with the specific intent to harm the United States or benefit a foreign power, the Tlaib press release said.
Ellsberg, who had worked as a U.S. military analyst, released the Pentagon Papers in 1971 while working for the RAND Corporation. He was charged in 1971 under the Espionage Act of 1917 and other charges, including theft and conspiracy. charges were dropped in 1973. U.S. District Judge William Matthew Byrne Jr. of Los Angeles dropped the charges because of government misconduct that included an illegal break-in of his psychiatrist's office.
Other Congress members co-sponsoring the bill include Jesús “Chuy” García, Summer Lee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ilhan Omar, and Delia Ramirez.
