The Obama Administration and the Espionage Act

Espionage has been a relatively loose term the Obama Administration has used during the current presidency. Obama has prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act (passed in 1917 in response to WWI) than any other previous administration combined. Since 2008, eight Americans have been charged with leaking information and violating the Espionage Act. 

Espionage: the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information. 


How does espionage relate to Stephen Kim? Kim was working as the state department expert on rouge nations with weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Kim, a U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea, probably knew more about what was going on in North Korea than anyone else.

James Rosen, a Fox News reporter named by Eric Holder as a co-conspirator, met with Kim to discuss the contents of a top-secret intelligence report. The information concerned North Korea's intentions to carry out additional nuclear tests in response to a United Nations resolution. This information was by no means groundbreaking, and merely confirmed what most had already suspected. Kim was later charged with espionage. After four years, he took a plea bargain and was sentenced to 13 months in prison. He is set to be released in 2015. 

The Obama administration has been controversial with the use of the Espionage Act when leaks appear to be merely "whistle blowing" rather than dangerous. Follow the link below to view a video about Kim and ask yourself this......is he guilty of espionage? Or is he just another victim of the government crackdown on journalist's sources?

The Surrender: a film by Stephen Maing