GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy published an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday vowing to ask Congress to repeal the Espionage Act of 1917 if elected in 2024.
The Espionage Act is one of the most un-American laws Congress has ever enacted. If elected, I will ask Congress to repeal it and will instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to stop enforcing it in the meantime. ⁰⁰Enacted by the Godfather of the Administrative State himself,…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) June 26, 2023
The Espionage Act, passed by Congress shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, made it a crime to convey information intended to interfere with the war effort. At the time, according to the National Constitution Center, the Wilson Administration argued that the Espionage Act was “essential to the war effort” and used it to prosecute “thousands of anti-war activists.”
“The Espionage Act is one of the most un-American laws Congress has ever enacted. If elected, I will ask Congress to repeal it and will instruct the U.S. Department of Justice to stop enforcing it in the meantime,” Ramaswamy stated.
The Republican candidate went on to argue that while there are “almost surely hundreds of violations of the Espionage Act every day,” the ones who are “ultimately targeted” are “politically disfavored opponents.”
Ramaswamy cited former President Donald Trump as an example, as Trump was recently arraigned on alleged violations of the Espionage Act over documents that he retained following his presidency.
“The Espionage Act nullifies, or at least confounds, subsequently enacted laws that apply to specific types of government documents. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 gives the president the sole authority to decide what records to take with him when he leaves office. The indictment of Mr. Trump, which doesn’t even mention the Presidential Records Act, suggests the Espionage Act is again a weapon against dissent, as it was in 1917,” Ramaswamy added.
Ramaswamy also noted that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was indicted under the act while “the Washington press corps reports leaked information with impunity.”
While noting that there are “more than a dozen more-specific federal statutes criminalizing spying, hacking and misuse of government records,” Ramaswamy added, “Of course, the U.S. must prosecute spies and protect national secrets, but the Espionage Act isn’t necessary to do so.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Vivek Ramaswamy” by Vivek Ramaswamy.
