§3235 Semiannual Reports on Investigations of Unauthorized Disclosures of Classified Information

Summary

Requires certain intelligence leaders and the Justice Department to send reports every 6 months about probes into classified information that was given to the media without permission. Covered official — the leaders of each part of the U.S. intelligence community and the inspectors general who oversee them. Investigation — any inquiry, formal or informal, into a possible leak. Unauthorized disclosure — a leak of classified information to anyone without permission. Unauthorized public disclosure — a leak of classified information to a journalist or media organization. Each covered official must report to the congressional intelligence committees every 6 months on the prior 6-month period. The report must say how many media-leak investigations were opened, how many were finished, and of those finished how many were sent to the Attorney General for criminal review. The Assistant Attorney General for National Security, after talking with the FBI Director, must also report every 6 months to the congressional intelligence committees and to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees about each referral the intelligence community sent to the Justice Department. That report must cover referrals made during the most recent 365-day period and any referral not yet closed, and for each referral must give the date received, whether the Justice Department substantiated the allegation, the highest classification level involved, whether a criminal investigation is active, whether charges were filed, and whether the leak was tied to a specific person or group. All reports must be sent in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.