“radical publications that deliberately sought to out undercover agents”
So just to confirm what this means,
“radical” = traitor working for enemy nation
The statute was motivated by ex-CIA employee Philip Agee who identified hundreds of covert U.S. agents working around the world in the late 1970’s. Agee did this through his book “Inside the Company,” through leaks to foreign news media and through a quarterly newsletter, Covert Action Information Bulletin, published by some of his associates.
From Agee’s 2008 New York Times obituary (he died in Havana):
You can package it any way you want the simple reality is he defected to the enemy during the cold war, said Frank R. Anderson, 65, who worked as a clandestine officer for the C.I.A. abroad from 1968 to 1995. He did everything he could to endanger his colleagues and fellow American citizens.
Mr. Agees efforts and those of his associates, Mr. Anderson said, placed in danger not only Americans doing covert work but also all the foreign citizens who had associated with them, whether as spies or in daily life. Even when it did not result in physical threats, the exposure of spies disguised as diplomats or businesspeople forced the agency to withdraw them and caused costly disruptions of intelligence efforts, Mr. Anderson said.