Is There A White House Double Standard When It Comes To Prosecuting Those Responsible For Intelligence Leaks?

President Obama during a news conference at the White House on April 5. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

New York Times: Obama’s Latest View on Secrecy Overlooks Past Prosecution of Leaks

WASHINGTON — When President Obama defended Hillary Clinton’s email practices in a television interview over the weekend by saying, “there’s classified, and then there’s classified,” he was only repeating what critics of government secrecy have long contended: that most of what is classified is merely sensitive, a little embarrassing or perhaps a policy debate still in progress.

But these are distinctions the Obama administration has not necessarily made in its treatment of classified information when dealing with news organizations, whistle-blowers or government officials accused of leaking information.

The White House has overseen some nine leak prosecutions, compared with just three under all previous presidents, drawing sharp criticism from news media advocates. The administration denounced the huge trove of confidential State Department cables released by WikiLeaks as damaging to American diplomacy, and it created task forces to counter Edward J. Snowden’s revelations about the National Security Agency – some of which involved genuine secrets, and some of which did not.

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WNU Editor: NSA leaker Edward Snowden's response to President Obama's comment that "there’s classified and then there’s classified" probably sums up what some leakers are thinking .... "If only I had known".