50 USC 421: Identities of US Undercover Intelligence Officers, Agents, Informants and Sources

About This Project

This project uses data compiled by the Sunshine in Government initiative, a coalition of journalism and transparency groups. SGI compiled data from federal agency annual FOIA reports to track how often b(3) exemptions were used. SGI also standardized the exemptions since some agencies used slightly different citations of the same laws. In some cases, agencies listed general laws without specifying a section under which information was withheld. This project does not include information from agencies that use no b(3) exemptions in 2008 or 2009. ProPublica compiled information about FOIA denials.

Department	Claims
Dept. of Defense	6.0
National Archives and Records Administration	2.0

      
 
                   TITLE 50--WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                      CHAPTER 15--NATIONAL SECURITY
 
   SUBCHAPTER IV--PROTECTION OF CERTAIN NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION

             
          Sec. 421. Protection of identities of certain United States 
        undercover intelligence officers, agents, informants, and 
        sources
        

(a) Disclosure of information by persons having or having had access to 
        classified information that identifies covert agent

    Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified 
information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any 
information identifying such covert agent to any individual not 
authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the 
information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the 
United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert 
agent's intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined 
under title 18 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

(b) Disclosure of information by persons who learn identity of covert 
        agents as result of having access to classified information

    Whoever, as a result of having authorized access to classified 
information, learns the iden
tify of a covert agent and intentionally discloses any information 
identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to 
receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed 
so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking 
affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent's intelligence 
relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or 
imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(c) Disclosure of information by persons in course of pattern of 
        activities intended to identify and expose covert agents

    Whoever, in the course of a pattern of activities intended to 
identify and expose covert agents and with reason to believe that such 
activities would impair or impede the foreign intelligence activities of 
the United States, discloses any information that identifies an 
individual as a covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive 
classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so 
identifies such individual and that the United States is taking 
affirmative measures to conceal such individual's classified 
intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under 
title 18 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(d) Imposition of consecutive sentences

    A term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be 
consecutive to any other sentence of imprisonment.

(July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title VI, Sec. 601, as added Pub. L. 97-200, 
Sec. 2(a), June 23, 1982, 96 Stat. 122; amended Pub. L. 106-120, title 
III, Sec. 304(b), Dec. 3, 1999, 113 Stat. 1611.)
                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106-120, Sec. 304(b)(2)(A), substituted 
``shall be fined under title 18'' for ``shall be fined not more than 
$50,000''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106-120, Sec. 304(b)(2)(B), substituted ``shall 
be fined under title 18'' for ``shall be fined not more than $25,000''.
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106-120, Sec. 304(b)(2)(C), substituted ``shall 
be fined under title 18'' for ``shall be fined not more than $15,000''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106-120, Sec. 304(b)(1), added subsec. (d).
                               Short Title

    For short title of this subchapter as the ``Intelligence Identities 
Protection Act of 1982'', see section 1 of Pub. L. 97-200, set out as a 
Short Title of 1982 Amendment note under section 401 of this title.