I’ve represented a number of national security and intelligence officials across the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations in “leak” investigations and prosecutions. I have criticized the fact that many of those cases transpired under the draconian, antiquated Espionage Act and targeted government employees for alleged press disclosures made in the public interest. And I have also condemned those cases for being politicized against people who exposed America’s darkest (and often illegal) secrets, including torture, warrantless domestic surveillance, and civilian drone strikes.
Defendants included U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning; CIA whistleblowers Jeffrey Sterling and John Kiriakou; and NSA whistleblowers Thomas Drake, Edward Snowden and Daniel Hale. In my opinion, these cases were politicized against leaks that embarrassed the government, exposed its ineptitude, or revealed illegal conduct. But that is a far cry from what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is threatening to do. She recently announced that she has ordered an investigation into "politically motivated leaks."
