House Republican Drafts Bill To Prosecute WikiLeaks For Revealing U.S. Sources

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the incoming chair of the House Homeland Security committee, introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit publishing the names of sources working with U.S. intelligence officials.

The legislation, named the SHIELD ACT, is primarily aimed at the whistleblower site WikiLeaks, which earlier this year published the names of Afghan informants. 

“Julian Assange and his associates who operate and support WikiLeaks have not only damaged U.S. national security with their releases of classified documents, but also placed at risk countless lives, including those of our Nation’s intelligence sources around the world,” King said in a statement.  

Upon the initial publications, Defense officials warned that the informants’ lives could be put in jeopardy. Although no evidence of informants being killed has come to light, officials are still concerned that the publication could produce a chilling effect among sources.