Velshi: How the Espionage Act Could Take Down a Former President

Two months after the United States entered World War I in 1917, Congress passed a law called the Espionage Act, aiming to crack down on wartime activities deemed dangerous or disloyal to the United States. As it stands today, the Act is meant to nab spies and leakers who have shared U.S. secrets - particularly defense secrets - that put America at risk. Some constitutional scholars point out one major flaw: the Espionage Act doesn't really differentiate between government insiders who share sensitive information with foreign powers, and those who may share secret information with the press in order to inform the public about government misconduct, which has led to excessive charges aimed at whistleblowers and journalists. But Donald Trump is not a whistleblower, or a journalist, or a foreign agent. He didn't leak a military report to the press for the betterment of the nation, nor did he hand out anti-war fliers. He is the former President of the United States, accused of stowing away boxes and boxes of some of the most sensitive U.S. national security secrets.June 10, 2023