Expert: Harman Leakers Likely Committed Felony

Secrecy Expert: Harman Leakers Likely Committed Felony

By Zachary Roth - May 4, 2009

Did the people -- whoever they may be -- who leaked details about Rep. Jane Harman's wiretapped conversation with a suspected Israeli agent, break the law?

The law quite clearly prohibits the unauthorized disclosure of classified information "concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government." And Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy, confirmed to TPMmuckraker: "It seems crystal clear that if this was a FISA wiretap," as appears to be the case, "then whoever disclosed it committed a felony."

Aftergood explained that under FISA, the communications of American citizens "are supposed to be minimized". But in this case, he said, "they were publicly revealed. It seems to be the clearest violation of law in the whole episode."

Aftergood added that it's "all but certain that the wheels are turning at the Justice Department to investigate the leak."

And Melvin Goodman, a former CIA analyst who's now a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, underlined the extent to which a leak of this nature would violate national security protocol. "When American names came up on these intercepts, they were handled very carefully," Goodman told TPMuckraker. "The names would be blacked out."

Goodman added: "The investigation of the leak from a counter-intelligence standpoint would be a requirement."

Asked by TPMmuckraker whether it has begun an investigation, a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.

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