Isn't there a death penalty for treason? Isn't outing a spy treason?

[Patiod]

Just wishful thinking.

Plus I'm against the death penalty.

Although I might consider an exception.....

[movonne]

1. I always thought so...but things sure have changed..I might be

mistaken but was not this why the Rosenbergs executed..

[onenote]

8. rosenbergs executed for espionage not treason

Treason is very narrowly defined by Constitution.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Yup.

I also believe that spying on tens of millions of Americans may qualify as sedition.

[Old and In the Way]

3. George HW Bush is on record as saying this is the worst possible act

of treason. I wonder how he'll feel if his son was the prime mover in the outing of Plame?

[Cyrano]

4. Geeez, how dense are you. Those laws only apply to us. Many are

exempt including Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rumsfeld and anyone else they say is exempt. Get with the program.

[KAT119]

5. During war time Treason has a death penalty option-esp. if the

Traitors have injured this country, e.g. removing Ms. Plame's company/ expertise from tracking WMDs worldwide--lack of which knowledge deeply injures and imperils us- and the very life of our planet.

Cheney's dark agenda in stopping her vital work must come out!!

[treestar]

12. Watch "we are at war" hit them in the butt

They would be suddenly arguing we were not at war would they were ever convicted.

[Sinti]

6. Laws are for the little people n/t

[walldude]

7. Even though Iran and Nukes are now an issue

nobody will go down for treason. Perjury is the best we're gonna get.

[heartofthesiskiyou]

9. Yes and possibly

1)Yes one could get the death penalty for treason but only in a time of war such as the Iraq resolution that place us in a war on terror. Even an undeclared cold war was sufficient to put to death for treason (Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) by atomic weapons spies in 53. It would likely get challenged on the grounds of whether we are in a war or not, but I think the president is there and strong to uphold.

2)Possibly but it is discretionary by recommendation of prosecution and then accepted by the judge. An issue of degree of damage done by the treasonous act plays a part in the consideration of sentence. If agents are killed or captured as a result of the treasonous act death would be considered. If national security is severely damaged it would also likely be considered.

At least this is how things have gone in the past but under the new world ODER things could be handled differently in a faithed based government, like god made him do it or something.

[yodermon]

10. specifically the Espionage act.

US Code 18 § 794

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000794----000-.html

(a) Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, communicates, delivers, or transmits, or attempts to communicate, deliver, or transmit, to any foreign government, or to any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, or to any representative, officer, agent, employee, subject, or citizen thereof, either directly or indirectly, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, note, instrument, appliance, or information relating to the national defense, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, except that the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless the jury or, if there is no jury, the court, further finds that the offense resulted in the identification by a foreign power (as defined in section 101(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978) of an individual acting as an agent of the United States and consequently in the death of that individual, or directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, early warning systems, or other means of defense or retaliation against large-scale attack; war plans; communications intelligence or cryptographic information; or any other major weapons system or major element of defense strategy.
(b) Whoever, in time of war, with intent that the same shall be communicated to the enemy, collects, records, publishes, or communicates, or attempts to elicit any information with respect to the movement, numbers, description, condition, or disposition of any of the Armed Forces, ships, aircraft, or war materials of the United States, or with respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed plans or conduct of any naval or military operations, or with respect to any works or measures undertaken for or connected with, or intended for the fortification or defense of any place, or any other information relating to the public defense, which might be useful to the enemy, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life.
(c) If two or more persons conspire to violate this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy.

So you can get the death penalty for spying for a foreign gov't. in part A if:
1) You know your spying can hurt the United States (OR be used to the advantage of a foreign power), AND
2) This information lead to the death(s) of our agents overseas.

Part B:
1) In a time of war, you spy for the enemy.

It seems to me that Dick Cheney could be tried under part A or B.

Secion 793 (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000793----000-.html ) is less stringent and is what nailed Larry Franklin in the AIPAC scandal.

(One interesting note is that Fitz only mentions Secion 793 in the Libby press conference -- NOT the IIPA which everyone is assuming is the statute in question. Is 794 beyond Fitz's reach in re Plame?)

[onenote]

13. the courts construe 794 much more narrowly than 793

Section 794 only applies to classic "spying", and thus it (and the associated death penalty provision) would not apply to the Plame leak.

Here is how the government explained it in its brief in the Morison case (where a leak to the press of national defense info was held to violate 793):

"Petitioner's repeated suggestions that Section 793 applies only to
"spies" (Pet. 18) and "those engaged in espionage" (Pet. 19) are also
belied by the revealing differences between Section 793 and Section
794. As the court of appeals noted (Pet. App. 12a-14a), Section 794,
unlike Section 793, proscribes the transfer of information relating to
the national defense "to any foreign government" or to "any
representative, officer, agent, employee, subject, or citizen thereof"
(18 U.S.C. 794(a)). Section 794 thus expressly prohibits what
petitioner has termed "classic spying" (see Pet. App. 9a), and for
that reason it carries a maximum penalty of death or life
imprisonment. Section 793, by contrast, is not limited to disclosures
to representatives of foreign governments, but prohibits delivering
national defense information to "any person not entitled to receive
it" (Section 793(d)) and retaining unauthorized possession of national
defense information and failing to deliver it to an authorized person
(Section 793(e)). In accordance with its broader scope, Section 793
carries the less severe maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment, a
$10,000 fine, or both. That statutory structure demonstrates that
Congress knew how to proscribe the act of "classic spying" when it
wished to do so. See Lehman v. Nakshian, 453 U.S. 156, 162 (1981);
Galloway v. United States, 319 U.S. 372, 389 (1943). Under
traditional principles of statutory construction, the difference
between the sections must therefore be seen as intentional. See
Fedorenko v. United States, 449 U.S. 490, 512 (1981); Lawrence County
v. Lead-Deadwood School Dist. No. 40-I, 469 U.S. 256, 267 (1985);
United States v. Erika, Inc., 456 U.S.201, 208 (1982).

http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/1988/sg880401.txt

onenote

[heartofthesiskiyou]

11. In penalty espionage and treason are the same - link

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00076.htm

[reichstag911]

14. IOKIYAR

:grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr::banghead::nuke::grr:

[BlooInBloo]

15. As with all else....

[Minnesota Libra]

16. "Aiding and Abetting the enemy" in a "time of war" IS TREASON.........

.....and according to the laws is subject to death by fire squad or lethal injection. If someone wanted to push this through the federal courts it may not make it die to the neocon stacked courts but would sure open a few eyes in this country.

[Patiod]

17. A girl can hope.....

It makes such a pleasant fantasy....