Proposed penalties for feds who leak secrets draw criticism

A bill to expand criminal penalties for government employees who leak secrets would not dramatically increase the number of prosecutions, Attorney General Reno predicted last week.

The bill, awaiting President Clinton's signature, closes what Reno called "a very narrow gap" in existing law. It would extend penalties that now exist for leaking classified, national defense information to the leaking of other classified--but non-defense data--that could harm the United States if made public or given to foreign governments.

Four of the nation's largest news organizations--CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Newspaper Association of America--have asked Clinton to veto the bill. They and other critics, including some from both parties in Congress, fear it could silence whistleblowers and stop news media from getting information to the public.

Reno said she would be discussing the veto request with White House officials, the Associated Press reported.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., has said the provision was "narrowly crafted to protect the rights that all Americans hold dear. It is not, as some will say, an affront to the First Amendment."