Washington DC is filled to overflowing with classified information, classified information which continues to regularly appear in the media from the New York Times to the Washington Post to the Internet news sites. It is an epidemic.

It is a crime (Sec 793 of the Espionage Act lays it out) to reveal classified information.

 1. Reveal national defense information to someone who is not cleared to receive it — gets you a fine plus up to 10 years in prison.

 2. If you “steal” that information, you get 10 years and a fine.

 3. If the information is classified and pertinent to US or foreign communications intel activities – means and methods – yep, 10 years and a fine.

 4. If you obtain access to classified info by means of computer access without authorization or beyond the authorization you hold, you get 10 years plus a fine.

 5. If you disclose the identity of a covert agent (of any part of the government), directly or indirectly, you get 15 years plus a fine.

 6. If you lie to the FBI or obstruct a criminal investigation about classified information, you can be sentenced from 5 to 20 years in prison.

This is some serious stuff; and, yet, it happens all the time.

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