United States v. Albury

The Reporters Committee filed an amicus brief in federal district court in Minnesota in advance of the sentencing of Terry Albury, a former FBI agent who was charged under the Espionage Act for disclosing information to the news media and pled guilty. The brief offered the court a historical perspective on using the Espionage Act in leak cases, and argued that the routine use of the Espionage Act to punish leaks could chill newsgathering and the public’s right to know about government activities. The brief also noted that the relevant federal sentencing guideline is based almost exclusively on spying cases, not media disclosure matters (as there was only one successful conviction when the guideline was written in 1987).