Sec. 5. Exception to prevent terrorist activity or harm to the national security
360 words·~2 min read·
/bill/113/s/987/rs/section-5A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 2 shall not apply to any protected information if— the party seeking to compel disclosure is the Federal Government; and in a criminal investigation or prosecution of the allegedly unlawful disclosure of properly classified information, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the protected information for which compelled disclosure is sought would materially assist the Federal Government in preventing or mitigating— an act of terrorism; or other acts that are reasonably likely to cause significant and articulable harm to national security; or in any other criminal investigation or prosecution, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the protected information for which compelled disclosure is sought would materially assist the Federal Government in preventing, mitigating, or identifying the perpetrator of— an act of terrorism; or other acts that have caused or are reasonably likely to cause significant and articulable harm to national security.
In assessing the existence or extent of the harm described in subsection (a), a Federal court shall give appropriate deference to a specific factual showing submitted to the court by the head of any executive branch agency or department concerned. Subsection
(a)shall not apply, and, subject to sections 3 and 4, section 2 shall apply, to any criminal investigation or prosecution of the allegedly unlawful disclosure of properly classified information other than one in which the protected information is sought by the Federal Government to prevent or mitigate the harm specified in subsection (a)(2)(A). In considering the extent of any harm to national security when applying section 2 to such cases, a Federal court shall give appropriate deference to any specific factual showing submitted to the court by the head of any executive branch agency or department concerned. The potential for a subsequent unlawful disclosure of information by the source sought to be identified shall not, by itself and without any showing of additional facts beyond such potential disclosure, be sufficient to establish that compelled disclosure of the protected information would materially assist the Federal Government in preventing or mitigating— an act of terrorism; or other acts that are reasonably likely to cause significant and articulable harm to national security.