USAF: Accessing WikiLeaks Leaks Violates Espionage Act

By Joshua Carpenter, Random Knuts
February 07, 2011  05:00 p.m. EST

You may want to cover your tracks if you have accessed the WikiLeaks website.  At least that is what a new report is claiming.  The material available to the general public is still classified.  And the simple fact that it is in the public domain does not change that fact.  Issued by the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the new guidelines state that "...the leaked documents are protected by the Espionage Act and that [any USAF employee, military or civilian] accessing them under any circumstances is [breaking] the law."  Moreover, the announcement highlights the fact that even if the relatives of USAF employees access the information on their private computer, they can be prosecuted as well.

The U.S. military has recently faced backlash for discouraging employee and servicemen and women's access to public resources covering leaked information such as newspapers, websites and most recently in the classrooms.

And the military has not been the only ones discouraged from viewing the cables.  In a knee-jerk reaction, Columbia's International and Public Affairs allotted the State Department enough time to make students fearful of talking about the leaks.  And although the State's announcement was withdrawn, it was in the students' minds long enough to feel immoral the next time they thought about accessing the still-classified files.