Leaks: Why the Government Condemns and Condones Them
Leaks of classified information and the government’s responses to them are the subject of a new study by David Pozen of Columbia Law School.
The starting point for his examination is the “dramatic disconnect between the way our laws and our leaders condemn leaking in the abstract and the way they condone it in practice.” How can this disconnect be understood?
Leaks benefit the government, the author argues, in many ways. They are a safety valve, a covert messaging system, a perception management tool, and more. Even when a particular disclosure is unwelcome or damaging, it serves to validate the system as a whole.
This thesis may explain why the number of leak prosecutions is still lower than might be expected, given the prevalence of leaks, and why new legislative proposals to combat leaks have met with a lukewarm response from executive branch officials.
“The leak laws are so rarely enforced not only because it is hard to punish violators, but also because key institutional actors share overlapping interests in maintaining a permissive culture of classified information disclosures.”
The article is full of stimulating observations woven into an original and provocative thesis. See The Leaky Leviathan: Why the Government Condemns and Condones Unlawful Disclosures of Information by David Pozen, to be published in Harvard Law Review.
Extreme heat is the leading weather-related cause of injury and death and innovations in the built environment can save money and lives.
By requiring all states to conduct flood infrastructure vulnerability assessments (FIVAs), the federal government can limit its financial liability while advancing a more efficient and effective model of flood resilience that puts states and localities at the fore.
FAS is invested in seeing more students gain science and technology skills and enter STEM careers, both for students and for our country’s competitive advantage.
To sustain America’s leadership in AI innovation, accelerate adoption across the economy, and guarantee that AI systems remain secure and trustworthy, we offer a set of policy recommendations.