US prosecutors are increasingly seizing on an anti-espionage law to pursue US citizens suspected of divulging government secrets to the press, a major shift in the use of a 1917 law that was designed to stop leaks to the country's enemies.

Eleven times in US history, all of them since 1971, federal prosecutors have brought charges under the Espionage Act for disclosing information to newspapers, blogs or other media outlets. Eight of those cases occurred since US President Barack Obama took office in 2009.

These are the some of the 11 cases:

PENTAGON PAPERS:

Daniel Ellsberg became the first such defendant in 1971, when prosecutors accused the national security analyst and his colleague Anthony Russo of providing what would become known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and other media outlets. The secret documents revealed the extent of US involvement in Vietnam. Charges against the two men were dismissed when a judge found the government had wiretapped Ellsberg, possibly illegally.

SOVIET PHOTOS:

Samuel Morison, a former US Navy intelligence analyst, was charged in 1984 with illegally passing secret photographs of former Soviet ships to a magazine, Jane's Defence Weekly. He pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him, making him the first person convicted under the Espionage Act for divulging secrets to the press. He was sentenced to two years in prison but paroled. Then-president Bill Clinton pardoned him.

IRAN INTEL:

Lawrence Franklin, a Defense Department employee, was charged in 2005 with passing classified information about Iran to two pro-Israel lobbyists, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman. Franklin pleaded guilty and received a 12-year sentence.

NSA WASTE:

Former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake was suspected in 2010 of revealing information about the agency's warrantless wiretapping program. He was indicted under the Espionage Act but said the only information he leaked was about waste in an NSA program, which he gave to the Baltimore Sun. The 10 felony counts were dropped when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received no prison time.

WIKILEAKS SOURCE:

Chelsea Manning, an Army private first class then known as Bradley Manning, turned over more than 700,000 classified files to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in the biggest breach of secret data in US history. Manning was sentenced in August to 35 years in a military prison after being found guilty of 19 counts but acquitted of the most serious one, aiding the enemy.

BOOK SOURCE:

Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was charged in 2011 with illegally disclosing classified information about Iran to James Risen, a New York Times reporter, for his book State of War. The case remains pending, as the government has tried unsuccessfully to force Risen to testify about his sources.

INTERROGATION LEAK:

Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was charged in 2012 with divulging to journalists secret information about the CIA's interrogation program, including the identity of a covert officer. In an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to one count and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMS:

US officials said in June they had filed sealed criminal charges against former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for unauthorized leaks and theft of government property. Snowden prompted a worldwide debate after he gave documents to newspapers showing the extent of US surveillance programs. Russia granted him asylum.

Reuters

(China Daily 09/25/2013 page11)