US House to consider prosecution of journalists due to Stuxnet leak

House lawmakers are considering amending the Espionage Act in order to be able to prosecute journalists who disclose sensitive information, in part due to newspaper stories about the US role in the Stuxnet worm.

During a House Judiciary Committee panel hearing on Wednesday, Rep. James Sensenbrenner said the committee was considering revamping the Espionage Act to allow prosecution of journalists for exposing state secrets, according to a report by the Christian Science Monitor.

Sensenbrenner acknowledged the First Amendment issues such a law would cause. “We’ve got the constitutional issue about the First Amendment protecting the freedom of the press, but there has to be a balance”, he was quoted as saying.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith, author of popular bills like SOPA and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, accused the Obama administration of playing politics with national security.

“What sets these leaks apart from other leaks we have seen is that the media reports that many of these have come from highly placed administration officials. If true, this means that administration officials are weakening our national security and endangering American lives”, he said in a statement.

Smith called on the Justice Department to “bring the full force of the law” against those who leaked national security secrets and said, “We can judge whether the administration is willing to conduct a serious and objective investigation by considering two factors: (1) whether they will hold administration officials responsible and (2) whether the investigation is completed before the general election”.

Lucy Dalglish, he executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says that there is “no need for a new law, and certainly not one that was rushed through Congress without careful consideration.”