It’s Overkill

At a time when spies seem to be coming out of the woodwork of the American intelligence establishment, a man who was not a spy was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison under the Espionage Act. Unless the sentence is overturned on appeal, Samuel Loring Morison, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy, will go to jail for the crime of leaking classified photographs to the press.

Though Morison could have been sentenced to as much as 40 years behind bars, the relatively light sentence that he received is not a victory for him or for the cause of an informed citizenry. The whole Morison affair--his prosecution, conviction and sentencing--is a significant and unwelcome change in the interpretation and enforcement of the espionage laws. Never before has a court ruled that a person could be charged as a spy for leaking to the press. Never before has a jury convicted anyone for spying in these circumstances. Never before has someone been punished for bringing important defense information to the public.

At issue in the trial were three photos taken by a U.S. reconnaissance satellite of a Soviet aircraft carrier under construction. Though they were classified, Morison gave them to the British magazine Jane’s Defense Weekly, and they were subsequently published around the world. But there has never been a showing of any damage to U.S. national security as a result. The Soviets already knew all about the technical capabilities of the satellite that took the pictures--courtesy of a real spy who sold them the information. Morison said that he was motivated by a desire to alert the American public to the Soviet naval buildup.

Over the years, Congress has consistently refused to pass an Official Secrets Act, such as Great Britain has, which would make it a crime to disclose official information for publication even when the information is harmless. So the Reagan Administration has instead decided to prosecute leakers as spies, and the courts appear willing to go along. In addition to Morison, the losers here will be the public, which must rely on just such leaks of information from insiders to be able to make informed policy judgments.

Nothing that Morison did can be construed as espionage. He should not serve a day in prison.