Members of Congress and White House officials could potentially be prosecuted for leaking classified information, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Sunday.
Rosenstein appeared on “Fox News Sunday” with Chris Wallace to discuss the Justice Department’s new initiative to combat classified leaks. Rosenstein will lead a task force to root out the leaks, which Attorney General Jeff Sessions said earlier this week have tripled in number since President Trump took office.
“If you find any [White House officials and members of Congress], have committed these leaks, have disclosed classified information, will you prosecute?” Wallace asked Rosenstein.
“If we identify somebody, no matter what their position is, if they violated the law and that case warrants prosecution, we’ll prosecute it,” Rosenstein replied.
“Including White House officials and members of Congress?” Wallace asked.
“Including anybody who breaks the law,” said Rosenstein.
Wallace also pressed Rosenstein on whether journalists will be targeted in leak investigations. Sessions said this week that the Justice Department plans to increase the use of subpoenas of reporters to obtain information about sources who leak classified information.
“We are after the leakers, not the journalists,” Rosenstein said, adding that reporters will not be prosecuted merely for publishing classified information, which is currently protected by the First Amendment.
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