Well, so much for freedom of the press. Utahns are evenly split over whether journalists who publish leaked information from the government should face criminal prosecution.
A new UtahPolicy.com survey finds 43% of Utahns think those journalists who publish leaked information from the government should face jail time, while the same number say that’s a bridge too far. 13% of Utahns say they are undecided.
In May it was reported that President Trump asked former FBI director James Comey to consider jailing journalists who report classified information. Trump reportedly made the suggestion to Comey in February following a series of leaks that led to the resignation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
While leaks are de rigueur for any presidential information, they’ve been especially troublesome for Donald Trump’s White House. A new report compiled by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson says Trump and his staff have had to deal with, on average, one national security leak per day during the first few months he was in office.
According to Fox News, the report details an “unprecedented wave” of leaks that have plagued the Trump presidency from the day he took office.
“Articles published by a range of national news organizations between January 20 and May 25, 2017, included at least 125 stories with leaked information potentially damaging to national security,” the summary said, noting that the leaks are “potential violations of federal law, punishable by jail time.”
The report states that the leaks flowed about “seven times faster” under the Trump administration than during the first 126 days of both Obama’s and George W. Bush’s presidency.
Recently, Reality Winner, a federal contractor who leaked classified information to the press, was arrested under the Espionage Act after she allegedly mailed a classified information to a reporter with The Intercept website. That document from the NSA detailed how Russia’s military intelligence agency hacked into a software supplier for U.S. voter databases. However, those behind the publication of the information have not been charged.
The Obama Administration aggressively went after leakers under the Espionage Act, including Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. Manning went to prison while Snowden is a fugitive. Manning’s sentence was commuted by President Obama before he left office.
Perhaps the most famous case of journalists publishing classified information was the so-called “Pentagon Papers” in 1971. Daniel Ellsberg, who worked on the report about the United States’ military involvement in Vietnam, shared the document with the New York Times, who published a story about them on the front page. Ellsberg was initially charged with conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property. Those charges were later dropped.
Sentiment for prosecuting journalists who reveal classified information depends on what side of the political spectrum you sit on.
64% of Utah Republicans say journalists who publish leaked information should be prosecuted, while 22% say they should not.
76% of Democrats and 59% of independent voters disagree with prosecuting journalists for revealing secret information.
The same goes for ideological leanings. Conservatives want to see journalists who leak prosecuted while moderates and liberals disagree.
- 68% of those who describe themselves as “very conservative” want journalists prosecuted.
- 51% of “somewhat conservative” Utahns want to see those who publish classified information to face criminal charges.
- 54% of moderates say journalists should not be prosecuted.
- 76% of “somewhat liberal” Utahns disagree with charging journalists who publish classified information.
- 81% of those who say they are “very liberal” do not want journalists to face charges for publishing classified information.
The Dan Jones & Associates survey was conducted May 31 – June 5, 2017, among 607 registered Utah voters with a margin of error +/- 3.98%.
