Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Daniel Ellsberg Press Freedom and Whistleblower Protection Act narrows several criminal provisions governing national-defense information. In section 793(a), it replaces an intent-or-reason-to-believe formulation with specific intent. In section 793(b), it requires properly classified material and limits liability to a covered person. Section 793(c) would require properly classified material and foreign-agent status. Sections 793(d) and (e) would apply to a covered person and require specific intent to injure the United States or advantage a foreign nation.
A covered person must have official access to classified information, be bound by a nondisclosure agreement, and be authorized by the President or the head of an expressly designated national-defense agency to receive the listed material. The foreign-agent definition incorporates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act definition but excludes a person who is an agent only with respect to a foreign-based political organization that is not substantially composed of U.S. persons.
The bill similarly limits section 798, which covers classified communications-intelligence information, to a covered person acting with specific intent to injure the United States or advantage a foreign nation. These changes remove or narrow liability for people and mental states outside the new definitions. They do not declassify information or eliminate other federal crimes, nondisclosure obligations, security-clearance consequences, or administrative discipline.
A defendant prosecuted under section 793 or 798 may testify about the purpose of the conduct. The bill also creates an affirmative defense when the defendant's purpose was public disclosure of information likely to reveal a legal, constitutional, treaty, or customary-international-law violation; gross mismanagement; gross waste; abuse of authority; or a specific danger to public health or safety. The text does not require use of an internal disclosure channel, exhaustion of agency remedies, or a general judicial balancing of all public benefits against national-security harm.
Who Benefits and How
Whistleblowers, classified-information defendants, journalists, publishers, public-interest organizations, and the public gain narrower criminal exposure and a defense tied to disclosure of serious wrongdoing or danger. Defense counsel gain clearer elements and the ability to present purpose testimony.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Justice Department prosecutors and federal investigators must prove narrower actor, classification, and intent elements and litigate affirmative defenses. National-security agencies, intelligence officials, and classification managers may face more public disclosure and reduced criminal deterrence. Courts must decide the new definitions and defense, while foreign intelligence services could gain from disclosures that qualify for protection or cannot satisfy the revised offense.
Key Provisions
- Requires specific intent under specified section 793 offenses.
- Limits specified offenses to covered official-access personnel.
- Limits section 793(c) to defined foreign agents.
- Requires proper classification for specified material.
- Narrows section 798 to covered persons with specific intent.
- Defines covered person through access, agreement, and authorization.
- Excludes a limited foreign-political-organization category.
- Allows defendants to testify about purpose.
- Creates a public-disclosure affirmative defense.
- Covers illegality, gross mismanagement, waste, abuse, and public danger.
- Preserves other criminal and administrative authorities.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Narrows Espionage Act offenses involving national-defense and classified communications-intelligence information by requiring covered official access, foreign-agent status, proper classification, or specific intent in specified provisions and creates testimony rights and a public-disclosure affirmative defense for prosecutions under sections 793 and 798.
Key Policy Areas
Espionage Act, Whistleblower Protection, Classified Information, Press Freedom, Federal Criminal Defense
Primary Purpose
Narrows Espionage Act offenses involving national-defense and classified communications-intelligence information by requiring covered official access, foreign-agent status, proper classification, or specific intent in specified provisions and creates testimony rights and a public-disclosure affirmative defense for prosecutions under sections 793 and 798.
Policy Domains
Section 2 revised sections 793 and 798, actor definitions, testimony right, and affirmative defense
Identified Gains
- Whistleblowers disclosing official wrongdoing
- Covered employees lacking harmful intent
- Classified-information criminal defendants
- Journalists receiving national-defense information
- Publishers reporting government misconduct
- Public-interest oversight organizations
- Defense attorneys litigating Espionage Act cases
- People exposed to undisclosed public dangers
Identified Costs
- Justice Department national-security prosecutors
- Federal classified-information investigators
- National-security agencies protecting secrets
- Intelligence officials managing disclosure risk
- Classification managers documenting proper status
- Federal courts hearing affirmative defenses
- Foreign-intelligence countermeasures programs
- Government offices facing public disclosures
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Lee …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Classification managers documenting proper status, Classification officials testifying at trial, Covered employees lacking harmful intent
Positive-direction: Covered employees lacking harmful intent, Foreign intelligence services exploiting disclosures, Whistleblowers disclosing gross mismanagement, Whistleblowers disclosing legal violations, Whistleblowers disclosing official wrongdoing, Whistleblowers disclosing public dangers
Negative-direction: Classification managers documenting proper status, Classification officials testifying at trial, Federal classified-information investigators, Federal courts evaluating disclosure purpose, Federal courts hearing affirmative defenses, Foreign-intelligence countermeasures programs, Intelligence officials managing disclosure risk, Justice Department national-security prosecutors, National-security agencies protecting secrets
Classified-information criminal defendants, Defense attorneys litigating Espionage Act cases, Defense attorneys presenting disclosure purpose
Journalists receiving national-defense information, Journalists receiving protected disclosures, Publishers reporting government misconduct
People exposed to concealed safety dangers, People exposed to undisclosed public dangers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "defendant"
- → Person prosecuted under section 793 or 798
- "publisher"
- → Journalist or publisher receiving information for public disclosure
- "prosecutor"
- → Federal prosecutor proving the revised offense
- "foreign_agent"
- → Person meeting the bill's narrowed foreign-agent definition
- "covered_person"
- → Officially authorized classified-information recipient bound by an agreement
Note: {'scope_ids': ['classified_information_offense_reform'], 'description': 'The bill substantially narrows sections 793 and 798 but does not declassify material, repeal other offenses, require internal reporting or exhaustion, protect every leak made in the public interest, or prevent clearance, contract, employment, and administrative consequences.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A person within the referenced FISA agent definition, excluding someone who qualifies only through the specified foreign political-organization category.
A person with official classified access, a nondisclosure agreement, and authorization from the President or a designated national-defense agency head to receive the specified material.
A defense based on a purpose to disclose information likely to reveal illegality, gross mismanagement, gross waste, abuse of authority, or a specific public-health or safety danger.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology