Prosecution of journalists

Prosecution of journalists for newsgathering activity is the use of criminal law — anti-leak statutes, espionage acts, conspiracy theories, obstruction charges — to deter reporting on government. Concrete forms include indictments of reporters for receiving classified information, subpoenas seeking the identification of sources backed by criminal contempt for refusal, prosecutions theorized as "conspiracy" with sources, and post-publication charges that effectively criminalize the work of investigative reporting. Espionage prosecutions of leakers themselves are a separate matter; the publication tracks cases where the journalist is the target.