Spy cases are rare. More typically, as in the Trump indictment, the act applies to the unauthorized gathering, possessing or transmitting of certain sensitive government information.
A government filing on August 30, 2022, alleges that efforts were likely taken “to obstruct the government’s investigation” into classified documents held at Donald Trump’s Florida home.
Two national security law experts explain how the Espionage Act isn’t only about international intrigue, and share other important points about the law that was invoked in a search of Trump’s estate.
A legal scholar analyzes the unsealed warrant for the FBI’s recent search of Donald Trump’s home and the list of materials seized there. The implications for Trump are potentially grave.
There’s a high bar for a federal judge to grant a search warrant, indicating there is probable cause that Trump committed a crime by holding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Julian Assange’s indictment under the Espionage Act, a sweeping law with heavy penalties for unauthorized receiving or disclosing of classified information, poses a threat to press freedom.
Anupam Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The best way to protect a presidential device is to keep it off the internet altogether. If that’s not going to happen, how else can such a sensitive gadget be kept safe?
The FBI has a history of abusing search warrants to illegally read Americans’ emails. Did the agency just do it again, in the highest of all high-profile situations?
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and senior ministers have been criticised over their use of WhatsApp, which can leave users vulnerable if their phones are hacked, attacked by malware, or simply stolen.