Espionage Crimes & Charges
Statutes provide for a wide variety of different espionage crimes and charges depending upon the specific type of information that was disseminated or withheld and the security value of that information, as determined by competent authorities. Key charges include:
Harboring or concealing any individual, whether domestic or foreign in origin, whom the concealing party has reason to believe has committed or is about to commit an offense under federal espionage laws.
Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information, including the gathering of information on bases, stations, vehicles, aircraft, and a wide variety of other national security assets, which may be injurious to the United States.
Gathering or delivering such information as provided above to any foreign government or foreign agent. This can include the sale or other transfer of such information as provided above, or the sale or transfer of photographs, drawings, or other representations.
Photographing or sketching any defense installation, or using aircraft to photograph any such installation, which can be compounded by charges of publishing or selling such representations.
Disclosing classified information, including classified information to which a person had rightful legal access to at the time when they became aware of that information. This has been the basis of most modern espionage prosecutions.
Statutes provide for a wide variety of different espionage crimes and charges depending upon the specific type of information that was disseminated or withheld and the security value of that information, as determined by competent authorities. Key charges include:
Harboring or concealing any individual, whether domestic or foreign in origin, whom the concealing party has reason to believe has committed or is about to commit an offense under federal espionage laws.
Gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information, including the gathering of information on bases, stations, vehicles, aircraft, and a wide variety of other national security assets, which may be injurious to the United States.
Gathering or delivering such information as provided above to any foreign government or foreign agent. This can include the sale or other transfer of such information as provided above, or the sale or transfer of photographs, drawings, or other representations.
Photographing or sketching any defense installation, or using aircraft to photograph any such installation, which can be compounded by charges of publishing or selling such representations.
Disclosing classified information, including classified information to which a person had rightful legal access to at the time when they became aware of that information. This has been the basis of most modern espionage prosecutions.