Timeline for Is it illegal in the United States for a journalist to take photographs of a letter of correspondence with a foreign official?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
10 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 2021 at 21:32 | comment | added | Vikki | "Indeed, if the President lets you see something this is arguably a de facto declassification of the document" - isn't that a de jure declassification of the document? | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 11:45 | comment | added | zibadawa timmy | @DaleM An alarmist might say he's already done that. We already know he's given classified intelligence to visiting Russian diplomats. No charges were pressed because the President has the authority to declassify what he wants when he wants and to share it with who he wants. There was barely any political blowback, at that. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:21 | comment | added | ohwilleke | @DaleM I think that the same immunity applies. It is still an official act and within the scope of the President's authority. The President can authorize leaks to foreign governments in furtherance of U.S. foreign policy. Impeachable but probably not a crime for the President. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:12 | comment | added | Dale M♦ | @ohwilleke I wonder about the immunity - if instead of revealing it to a journalist the President gave it to a Russian spy ...? | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:11 | comment | added | Dale M♦ | @ohwilleke which is why the Assange case will be so interesting. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:08 | comment | added | ohwilleke | @DaleM Perhaps, although one for which the President probably has immunity. But, the President probably has authority to declassify a document upon which a reasonable journalist could rely. And, soliciting a crime probably requires mens rea that the act being solicited is a crime. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:06 | comment | added | Dale M♦ | "if the President lets you see something this is arguably a de facto declassification of the document" or, in the alternative, a breach of the law by said President. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:05 | comment | added | Dale M♦ | However, the US government has brought charges for "soliciting" the crime in others (unlikely the particular journalist asked to be shown the letter but if they did ...) washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/… | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 3:02 | comment | added | bdb484 | Not quite right on the Pentagon Papers case, but Bartnicki v. Vopper gets us to about the same point. | |
| Jun 25, 2019 at 2:53 | history | answered | ohwilleke | CC BY-SA 4.0 |