[Southack]

"The author of Imperial Hubris is allowed to influence the election, as is any citizen. It is called free speech, not treason, and is protected by the Constitution."

No, he's not. It's the Intelligence equivalent of Insider Trading.

If a CIA agent tells you to "buy oil," and you do, just before a CIA operation shuts off oil deliveries for a month, then that agent has given you a *conclusion* based upon classified information.

Such conclusions and assessments are *illegal* to divulge. This is not a free speech issue. Active, on payroll CIA Agents like Scheuer (at that time) do *not* have free speech in regards to classified data, assessments, or even their own conclusions drawn from such material. All of the above are forbidden fruit.

Scheuer partook of that forbidden fruit. He gave assessments, and made them public, based upon his classified work at the CIA.

And he did so in order to illegally influence an election by overthrowing our sitting government.

That's treason. That's our CIA today.

[Snapple]

The laws about classified information are written. You can't prosecute people for doing what you consider analogous to another situation. The laws about leaking are very definite.

The book went through the legal process. The guy has committed no crime.

I have read the book. It is largely based on his analysis of what Bin Laden says in published materials. He has his footnotes in the book and the sources are published sources.