Is anyone in administration guilty of the Espionage Act?

[rateyes]

Is anyone (Rove, others?) guilty of a breach of US Code 18, Sec. 793

http://frwebgate3.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=3922846302+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

<snip>

(d) Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over,
or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book,
sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model,
instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or
information relating to the national defense which information the
possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the
United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully
communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated,
delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit
or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any
person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and
fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United
States entitled to receive it; or
(e) Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control
over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph,
photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument,
appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information
relating to the national defense which information the possessor has
reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to
the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers,
transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or
attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated,
delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive
it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer
or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or
(f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or
control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,
photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model,
instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national
defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed
from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of
his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2)
having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its
proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its
trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make
prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his
superior officer--
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten
years, or both.

<snip>

And, if so, and Bush knows it and is covering it up, is he guilty of Sec. 792 of same code?

<snip>

TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PART I--CRIMES

CHAPTER 37--ESPIONAGE AND CENSORSHIP

Sec. 792. Harboring or concealing persons

Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has
reasonable grounds to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to
commit, an offense under sections 793 or 794 of this title, shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 736; Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII,
Sec. 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)

<snip>

http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=389943332366+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve

And, if Fitzgerald is looking into this law, and proves same--are we looking at impeachment of Bush and jail time for others?

And, as others in DU have claimed, isn't this a hell of a lot more serious than outing Plame, as serious as that would be?

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. It's fairly limited

It's possible, but only if there is something before the Grand Jury that I'm not aware of. I think the limitations of the 1917 Act regarding exposure of covert operatives are what lead to the creation of the 1982 Identities law.

[rateyes]

2. But, I'm really not thinking about outing Plame..

I thinking about the classified report which was supposedly shown to reporters on AF-1 on Bush/Rice/Powells trip to Africa--info given ahead of Wilson's op-ed. Classified info on yellowcake.

Edit to add: The one Gannon/Guckert claims to have seen. The one that maybe Miller saw?? Just asking.

[ThoughtCriminal]

3. Yes, now that you mention it

There could be a violation there.

[kestrel91316]

4. Another prediction:

EVEN IF Bush and Cheney are named as unindicted co-conspirators, the Republicans in the House will take NO ACTION to impeach either. They will thumb their noses at Fitzgerald and the public, and all the yelling and screaming won't get them to change their minds. They are all pure evil.

[rateyes]

7. That's why we need to take back

the house and the senate in 2006--which means we need to come up with a positive plan for domestic issues.

[kestrel91316]

12. Tough to do that when ................

the christofascists own the voting machines.

[rateyes]

14. You do have a point there! eom

[Jacobin]

5. Billman has some thoughts on that: ("Better Warm Up Old Sparky")

Mark A.R. Kleiman raises the mindboggling possibility that Fitzgerald may go after Rove with an espionage indictment -- the same charge used to fry the Rosenbergs. Mark's reasoning, as usual, is very tight:

But Rove's conduct certainly meets the far less demanding elements of the Espionage Act: (1) possession of (2) information (3) relating to the national defense (4) which the person possessing it has reason to know could be used to damage the United States or aid a foreign nation and (5) wilful communication of that information to (6) a person not entitled to receive it.

Under the Espionage Act, the person doing the communicating need not actually know that revelation could be damaging; he needs only "reason to know." Classification is generally reason to know, and a security-clearance holder is responsible for knowing what information is classified.

Nor is it necessary that the discloser intend public distribution; if Rove told Cooper -- which he did -- and Cooper didn't have a security clearance -- which he didn't -- the crime would have been complete.

And to be a crime the disclosure need not be intended to damage the national security; it is only the act of communication itself that must be wilful.

It's also a crime to "cause" such information to be communicated, for example by asking someone else to do so.

Gulp. What's the matter, Karl? You look a little pale.


Scroll down a ways from here:

http://billmon.org/

[rateyes]

6. Self-delete

[rateyes]

8. Thanks!

That was a good read.

[Jacobin]

9. My wildest fantasy come true

[rateyes]

10. You still can get the death penalty for...

treason, can't you?

[Walt Starr]

11. It's the revelation of the CIA cover organization

The CIA backed company that Plame "worked" for was divulged in a direct violation of this act.

And yes, this one gets close to treason as this one had far reaching implications damaging to national security.

[Gloria]

13. Sam Seder brought this up on the Majority Report today....

maybe he'll discuss it again...

[Marnieworld]

15. Yes that is exactly what they are guilty of-espionage

They have been spinning away the crime of releasing Plame's identity. It's a tough crime to prove. However there has been no mystery that Rove's intent, and the gist of Novak's article, was to cast doubt on Wilson because his wife dispatched him to Niger. The fact that she suggested him was in a classified State Department document. Spreading this classified info is a crime too and that's the case I think Fitzgerald is making. That's why there is no further comment. The crime is the release of classified info not her name. The sooner that the Dems make this the only talking point the better because they've ALREADY admitted this crime.

:popcorn: