After its access to the Wikileaks web site was blocked by the Library of Congress, the Congressional Research Service this week asked Congress for guidance on whether and how it should make use of the leaked records that are being published by Wikileaks, noting that they could “shed important light” on topics of CRS interest.
CRS “has informed our House and Senate oversight committees, and solicited their guidance, regarding the complexities that the recent leaks of classified information present for CRS,” wrote CRS Director Daniel Mulhollan in a December 6 email message (pdf) to all CRS staff. “I have also contacted the majority and minority counsels of select committees in the House and Senate requesting guidance on the appropriate boundaries that CRS should recognize and adhere to in summarizing, restating or characterizing open source materials of uncertain classification status in unclassified CRS reports and memoranda for Congress.”
“Our challenge is how to balance the need to provide the best analysis possible to the Congress on current legislative issues against the legal imperative to protect classified national security information. This is especially a problem in light of the massive volume of recently released documents, which may shed important light on research and analysis done by the Service,” Mr. Mulhollan wrote.
“As guidance becomes available from Congress, I will follow-up with additional information. At present, it seems clear that the republication of known classified information by CRS in an unclassified format (e.g., CRS reports or congressional distribution memoranda) is prohibited. We believe this prohibition against the further dissemination of classified information in an unclassified setting applies even if a secondary source (e,g., a newspaper, journal, or website) has reprinted the classified document. The laws and applicable regulations are decidedly less clear, however, when it comes to referencing and citing secondary sources that refer to, summarize, or restate classified information.”
A copy of Mr. Mulhollan’s email message was obtained by Secrecy News.
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
FAS has partnered with ICLEI USA to launch the CRI Local Advisory Council.