50 U.S.C. § 783

Offenses

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(a) Communication of classified information by Government officer or employee

It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or of any corporation the stock of which is owned in whole or in major part by the United States or any department or agency thereof, to communicate in any manner or by any means, to any other person whom such officer or employee knows or has reason to believe to be an agent or representative of any foreign government, any information of a kind which shall have been classified by the President (or by the head of any such department, agency, or corporation with the approval of the President) as affecting the security of the United States, knowing or having reason to know that such information has been so classified, unless such officer or employee shall have been specifically authorized by the President, or by the head of the department, agency, or corporation by which this officer or employee is employed, to make such disclosure of such information.

(b) Receipt of, or attempt to receive, by foreign agent or member of Communist organization, classified information

It shall be unlawful for any agent or representative of any foreign government knowingly to obtain or receive, or attempt to obtain or receive, directly or indirectly, from any officer or employee of the United States or of any department or agency thereof or of any corporation the stock of which is owned in whole or in major part by the United States or any department or agency thereof, any information of a kind which shall have been classified by the President (or by the head of any such department, agency, or corporation with the approval of the President) as affecting the security of the United States, unless special authorization for such communication shall first have been obtained from the head of the department, agency, or corporation having custody of or control over such information.

Any person who violates any provision of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or by both such fine and such imprisonment, and shall, moreover, be thereafter ineligible to hold any office, or place of honor, profit, or trust created by the Constitution or laws of the United States.

(d) Limitation period

Any person may be prosecuted, tried, and punished for any violation of this section at any time within ten years after the commission of such offense, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute of limitations: Provided, That if at the time of the commission of the offense such person is an officer or employee of the United States or of any department or agency thereof, or of any corporation the stock of which is owned in whole or in major part by the United States or any department or agency thereof, such person may be prosecuted, tried, and punished for any violation of this section at any time within ten years after such person has ceased to be employed as such officer or employee.

(e) Forfeiture of property(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States irrespective of any provision of State law—(A) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation; and(B) any of the person’s property used, or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, such violation.(2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States all property described in paragraph (1).(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e) through (p) of section 853 of title 21 shall apply to—(A) property subject to forfeiture under this subsection;(B) any seizure or disposition of such property; and(C) any administrative or judicial proceeding in relation to such property,if not inconsistent with this subsection.(4) Notwithstanding section 524(c) of title 28, there shall be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund established under section 20101 of title 34 all amounts from the forfeiture of property under this subsection remaining after the payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale authorized by law.(5) As used in this subsection, the term “State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any territory or possession of the United States.(Sept. 23, 1950, ch. 1024, title I, § 4, 64 Stat. 991; Pub. L. 90–237, § 3, Jan. 2, 1968, 81 Stat. 765; Pub. L. 103–199, title VIII, § 803(2), Dec. 17, 1993, 107 Stat. 2329; Pub. L. 103–359, title VIII, § 804(c), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3440.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1994—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103–359 added subsec. (e).

1993—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–199, § 803(2)(A)–(C), redesignated subsec. (b) as (a), struck out “or an officer or member of any Communist organization as defined in paragraph (5) of section 782 of this title” after “foreign government”, and struck out former subsec. (a) which read as follows: “It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to the establishment within the United States of a totalitarian dictatorship, as defined in paragraph (15) of section 782 of this title, the direction and control of which is to be vested in, or exercised by or under the domination or control of, any foreign government, foreign organization, or foreign individual: Provided, however, That this subsection shall not apply to the proposal of a constitutional amendment.”

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–199, § 803(2)(B), (D), redesignated subsec. (c) as (b) and struck out “, or any officer or member of any Communist organization as defined in paragraph (5) of section 782 of this title,” after “foreign government”. Former subsec. (b) redesignated (a).

Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 103–199, § 803(2)(B), redesignated subsecs. (d) and (e) as (c) and (d), respectively. Former subsec. (c) redesignated (b).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103–199, § 803(2)(A), struck out subsec. (f) which read as follows: “Neither the holding of office nor membership in any Communist organization by any person shall constitute per se a violation of subsection (a) or subsection (c) of this section or of any other criminal statute.”

1968—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 90–237 struck out prohibition against receiving the fact of the registration of any person under section 787 or 788 of this title as an officer or member of any Communist organization in evidence against such person in any prosecution for any alleged violation of subsection (a) or (c) of this section or for any alleged violation of any other criminal statute.

Executive DocumentsTermination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 62 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1952–2025 · leading case: United States v. Truong Dinh Hung, United States of Am. v. Ronald Louis Humphrey, 629 F.2d 908 (4th Cir. 1980).

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United States v. Truong Dinh Hung, United States of Am. v. Ronald Louis Humphrey, 629 F.2d 908 (4th Cir. 1980). · cites it 8× “§§ 793 (e) and 2; and conspiracy to violate 50 U.S.C. § 783 (b) and (c), which penalize government employees who transmit, and foreign agents who thereby receive, classified information.”

United States v. Richard W. Miller, 874 F.2d 1255 (9th Cir. 1989). · cites it 4× “§§ 201 (c), 371, 793(b), 794(a) & (c); and 50 U.S.C. § 783 (b) (1982). The district court *1259 exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.”

New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971). · cites it 4× “§ 798 ; 50 U. S. C. § 783 . [1] Nor is there any issue here regarding the President's power as Chief Executive and Commander in Chief to protect national security by disciplining employees who disclose information and by taking precautions to prevent leaks.”

Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Bd., 382 U.S. 70 (1966). · cites it 4× “From IS-52a requires an admission of membership in the Communist Party. Such an admission of membership may be used to prosecute the registrant under the membership clause of the Smith Act, 18 U.”

Lamont v. Dep't of Just., 475 F. Supp. 761 (S.D.N.Y. 1979). · cites it 3× “§ 2385 ; see 50 U.S.C. § 783 (a). See also 18 U.S.C. §§ 2384-2385 ; Third Aff.”

Greene v. McElroy, 360 U.S. 474 (1959). · cites it 2× “§ 798 , which makes it a crime willfully and knowingly to communicate to unauthorized persons information concerning cryptographic or intelligence activities, and 50 U. S. C. § 783 (b), which makes it a crime for an officer or employee of the United States to communicate…”

Irvin C. Scarbeck v. United States, 317 F.2d 546 (D.C. Cir. 1963). · cites it 5× “Scarbeck was tried in the District Court on an indictment which charged him in three counts with communicating classified information to representatives of the Polish Government, in violation of 50 U.S.C. § 783 (b), and in a fourth count with removing a document on file at the…”

Bismullah v. Gates, 501 F.3d 178 (D.C. Cir. 2007). · cites it 2× “§ 641 ; 50 U.S.C. § 783 ; 28 C.F.R. § 17 et seq.; and Executive Order 12958, I understand that I may be the recipient of information or documents that belong to the United States and concern the present and future security of the United States, and that such documents and…”

Scales v. United States, 367 U.S. 203 (1961). · cites it 2× “Petitioner has a right to have the constitutionality of the statute considered on the basis upon which it was originally written, for that was the condition of the statute when he violated it.”

Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 350 U.S. 497 (1956). · cites it 2× “," with 50 U. S. C. § 783 (f): "Neither the holding of office nor membership in any Communist organization by any person shall constitute per se a violation of subsection (a) or subsection (c) of this section or of any other criminal statute.”

McLucas v. DeChamplain, 421 U.S. 21 (1975). · cites it 2× “134 and 50 U. S. C. § 783 (b), and, under Art. 92, 10 U.”

Junius Irving Scales v. United States, 260 F.2d 21 (4th Cir. 1958). · cites it 3× “987 , 50 U.S.C.A. § 783 (f). In § 2 of this Act, 50 U.”

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— 50 U.S.C. § 783(b) — 2 cases

Irvin C. Scarbeck v. United States, 317 F.2d 546 (D.C. Cir. 1963). “Scarbeck was tried in the District Court on an indictment which charged him in three counts with communicating classified information to representatives of the Polish Government, in violation of 50 U.S.C. § 783 (b), and in a fourth count with removing a document on file at the…”

United States v. Aquino (3rd Cir. 2009).

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