Federal contractor charged with leaking secrets

Federal contractor charged with leaking secrets

hosted.ap.org

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is accusing an analyst who worked at the State Department of leaking top secret information about North Korea to a reporter. It's the latest move in an aggressive campaign to crack down on leaks, even as the administration supports proposed legislation that would shield reporters from having to identify their sources.

Steven Kim, who worked at State as a federal contractor, is named in a federal indictment unsealed Friday.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a short article but I found it interesting to say the least. What purpose would a federal contractor have to disclose State Department secrets about North Korea to FOXNEWS?

Possible NK plant?

Also, why would State Dept. secrets be released to private contractors? Is this a common practice?

hosted.ap.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

www.apcss.org...

He is Korean. The last name should have stood out to you.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247


What purpose would a federal contractor have to disclose State Department secrets about North Korea to FOXNEWS?

I think the better question is,

"What possible motive could a "news" organization have for running stories on how people leaking secret information are getting busted?"

Sounds like pure propaganda to me. Bottom line message, "leaking US secrets will get you caught." Since they cant catch the leaks to Wikileaks unless the leaker hands themselves over via just flat our carelessness, they thought it might be a good idea to put the fear of Big Brother into us by catching them a spy.

How dumb would a real leaker have to be to tell FOX news of all outlets, anything? Its the most pro-war, pro-government, pro-stripping the Constitution media outlet there is.

Originally posted by sheepslayer247
Also, why would State Dept. secrets be released to private contractors? Is this a common practice?

And yes, it is common for civilians working as contractors to have secret clearances.

[edit on 27-8-2010 by Illusionsaregrander]

Yes he is Korean, I got that. He is involved in relations between Asian countries (NK) and the US. State Department. Why would he disclose anything to a Foxnews reporter? Something on the horizon or nothing to see here?

The material was classified top secret/sensitive compartmented information because it concerned the military capability of the foreign country and related to U.S. intelligence sources and methods.

This is an interesting statement! Military capability of the foreign country? ANd I'd like to know what is meant by US methods.

Interesting to say the least.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


Interesting! I can see how that could explain this. He was just a sacrifice to prove a point. hmmm. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

all governments are full of dirty secrets, which perpetuate war and divide. The politicians use this as a tool in their careers to further their careers using it as a mental tool for the masses who follow them.

I find it amusing how people come to ATS looking for truths to be revealed, demanding PROOF of things and wondering why no one comes forward with real facts.

"The willful disclosure of classified information to those not entitled to it is a serious crime," said Assistant Attorney General David Kris in a written statement. "Today's indictment should serve as a warning to anyone who is entrusted with sensitive national security information and would consider compromising it."

SOURCE

Leaked to Fox News?

I would like to see this followed up and see if its hipe or he actually does jail time. Usually these stories are headlined, but rarely does anyone follow them through to final outcome

When you follow JBA2848's link, it has an interesting paper written by Kim. It discusses the events surrounding a South Korean nuke test and the the political process that ensued. It is a very interesting read.

pdf

I understand that this man tried to disclose info to a Foxnews reporter, and it was probably a setup, but it would be very interesting to know what he tried to disclose. He is obviously surrounded by great information. I will follow up on this as I find more or developments occur.

So the court date was the 13th, yesterday, and I have not been able to find any new information that came from that hearing. Does anyone have any info on this, or a link to where it may be found? Thanks in advance!