On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” host Ali Velshi stated that — putting aside the particulars of the Espionage Act charges against former President Donald Trump — the Espionage Act does have problems with it and “has been used countless times to prosecute whistleblowers who share information with journalists.”
Velshi began by noting that the act was initially used to “essentially prohibit dissent, and many people found themselves prosecuted under the Espionage Act for simply speaking out against the war or other actions that could be considered disloyal to the United States.”
He added that while the act has since been amended, “The Espionage Act, as it stands today, is meant to nab spies and leakers who’ve shared U.S. secrets — particularly defense secrets — that put America at risk. There is some valid criticism of the Espionage Act. Some constitutional scholars point out one major flaw, that the Espionage Act doesn’t really differentiate between government insiders who share sensitive information with foreign powers, and those who may share secret information with the press in order to inform the public about government misconduct. And that flaw has been used countless times to prosecute whistleblowers who share information with journalists.” And has been used this way under different administrations, including the Trump administration.
Velshi concluded, “Trump is not a whistleblower or a journalist or a foreign agent. He didn’t leak a military report to the press for the betterment of the nation, nor did he hand out anti-war flyers. He is the former President of the United States, accused of stowing away boxes and boxes of some of the most sensitive U.S. national security secrets.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett