Secondly, he leaked a a document which was Government property which is a crime.
Wrong.
Were James Comey’s leaks lawful?
The precedents are clear: Disclosures like these are constitutionally protected.
By
Stephen M. Kohn
Stephen M. Kohn, a partner in the whistleblower-rights law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, is the author of “The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself.”
"During his Senate testimony Thursday, former FBI director James B. Comey admitted to being an anonymous leaker — a phrase that now has negative connotations. President Trump’s lawyer even hinted that Comey may deserve prosecution.
Let’s set the record straight. The vast majority of anonymous leaks are fully legal, many serve the public interest, they follow in a tradition widely practiced by our nation’s Founding Fathers, and they are recognized as fully protected speech by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The law is clear and was most recently tested in a case pitting a federal employee whistleblower, fired for leaking information to MSNBC, against both the Bush and Obama administrations.
It started on July 26, 2003, when the Department of Homeland Security issued a confidential internal notice warning...
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Why is leaking protected? First, absent a specific legal prohibition, government employees have a constitutional right to speak out on matters of public concern. This right was recognized by the Supreme Court in 1968 and is unchallenged today.
Second, Americans have a right to blow the whistle anonymously. Our Founding Fathers engaged in anonymous speech, and the utility of speaking out confidentially is widely recognized.
Justice Clarence Thomas, in another First Amendment Supreme Court case, explained that “the historical evidence indicates that the Founding era Americans opposed attempts to require that anonymous authors reveal their identities on the ground that forced disclosure violated the ‘freedom of the press.’ ” In that case, the majority opinion was more blunt: “Anonymity is a shield from . . . tyranny.”
Whistleblowers know that anonymity is their best shield against the tyranny of government. Once a whistleblower is known, his or her life is never the same. They are ostracized, fired and blacklisted.
Former FBI director James B. Comey testified about his interactions with President Trump before the Senate Intelligence Committee June 8. Here are key moments. (Video: Sarah Parnass/Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
Comey’s admission — that he gave a memo documenting a conversation with Trump to a friend to be leaked to the press — is also legal. Was the information classified or secret
as a matter of a federal law? Absolutely not.
Did he reveal a matter of public interest? Yes. Did Comey have a right to expose these facts anonymously? Yes.
It is time to stop attacking leakers. If someone illegally releases properly classified information, that violates the law. But the vast majority of leakers who release information on matters of public concern are not illegally disclosing classified information; they are blowing the whistle anonymously.
The right of current or former government employees to speak out on matters of public concern is protected under the U.S. Constitution. This is how a democracy functions."
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Analysis | Were James Comey’s leaks lawful?
