50 U.S.C. § 783 — Offenses

(a) Communication of classified information by a Government officer or employee. A United States officer or employee, an officer or employee of a United States department or agency, or an officer or employee of a corporation owned wholly or partly by the United States or such a department or agency may not communicate, by any method, information classified by the President or by an approved head of such a department, agency, or corporation as affecting United States security to a person the officer or employee knows or has reason to believe is an agent or representative of a foreign government. This applies when the officer or employee knows or has reason to know that the information was classified, unless the President or the employing department, agency, or corporation specifically authorized the disclosure. (b) Receipt or attempted receipt by a foreign agent. An agent or representative of a foreign government may not knowingly obtain, receive, or try to obtain or receive, directly or indirectly from the covered United States officer, employee, or corporation, information classified as affecting United States security by the President or by an approved head of the department, agency, or corporation. This is allowed only if the department, agency, or corporation controlling the information first gives special authorization for the communication. (c) Penalties. Any person who violates any provision of this section must, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. Afterward, the person is ineligible to hold any United States office or any place of honor, profit, or trust created by the Constitution or United States laws. (d) Limitation period. A person may be prosecuted, tried, and punished for a violation within 10 years after the offense, despite another limitations law. If the person was a covered United States officer or employee when the offense occurred, prosecution may occur within 10 years after the person stopped being such an officer or employee. (e) Forfeiture of property. (1) A person convicted under this section must forfeit to the United States, regardless of State law: (A) property that is or comes from proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from the violation; and (B) the person’s property used or intended to be used in any way, wholly or partly, to commit or help commit the violation. (2) When sentencing a convicted defendant, the court must order forfeiture of all property described in paragraph (1). (3) Unless paragraph (4) provides otherwise, subsections (b), (c), and (e) through (p) of section 853 of title 21 apply, if consistent with this subsection, to forfeitable property, its seizure or disposition, and related administrative or judicial proceedings. (4) Despite section 524(c) of title 28, all forfeiture amounts remaining after legally authorized forfeiture and sale expenses must be deposited in the Crime Victims Fund established under section 20101 of title 34. (5) Here, “State” means a United States State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or a United States territory or possession.