Obama Admin Accounts for 70% of Espionage Act Indictments

2013-06-22 Blessed_are_the_Peacemakers
Political cartoon protesting the Espionage Act of 1917 way back in 1917.

So the Obama Administration has filed a criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, and some of the counts fall under the Espionage Act of 1917. According to the WaPo’s article:

There was never any doubt that the Justice Department would seek to prosecute Snowden for one of the most significant national security leaks in the country’s history. The Obama administration has shown a particular propensity to go after leakers and has launched more investigations than any previous administration. This White House is responsible for bringing six of the nine total indictments ever brought under the 1917 Espionage Act. Snowden will be the seventh individual when he is formally indicted.

I find it interesting that an espionage law that is almost 100 years old will end up having 70% of its indictments come from the current administration. That’s just a really stark example of the “particular propensity to go after leakers” the article mentions. I also think that having Snowden successfully extradited might be the worst thing that could happen to the Obama administration politically, but I guess we may have a chance to find out soon. (Also, the complaint against Snowden was initially sealed. Figures.)