By Suzanne Kelly
The Senate committee that oversees the country's spy agencies has approved 12 tough new measures aimed at stopping leaks of classified information.
Among the stiff new reporting requirements are crackdowns on communications between intelligence employees and members of the media, requiring a government official to notify Congress if the communication includes classified information or information that is declassified for the purposes of sharing.
The measures included in the Fiscal Year 2013 Intelligence Authorization Act come amid heightened criticism of the Obama administration for officials sharing classified information with journalists about key national security matters.
by Suzanne Kelly
Discussions are ongoing over just how stringent new provisions should be as the Senate targets leakers in its upcoming Intelligence Authorization bill, according to a government source.
Many of the options up for consideration put far stricter limits on communications between intelligence officials and reporters, according to the source, who told CNN that early proposals included requiring government employees who provide background briefings to reporters to notify members of Congress ahead of time.
Such background meetings are not widely seen as opportunities to discuss classified programs. Reporters routinely use background briefings to gather contextual information on stories they are covering.
According to the government source, there were also discussions about consolidating some of the press offices within the intelligence community, limiting the number of people who are available to answer common media inquiries.
By Suzanne Kelly
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is rolling out new measures Monday aimed at ending what recently has been a spate of leaks regarding classified programs and operations.
Among Clapper's recommendations, to be instituted across the 16 intelligence agencies, are an enhanced counterintelligence polygraph test for employees who have access to classified information, and the establishment of a task force of intelligence community inspectors general that will have the ability to conduct independent investigations across agencies in coordination with the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive.
Clapper has also called for a review of current policies that relate to interaction with members of the media, and how that interaction must be reported.
The new question that will be added to the current counterintelligence polygraph test - which intelligence community employees who handle classified information are required to take - will specifically ask whether the employee has disclosed classified information to a member of the media.
By Suzanne Kelly
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is expected to roll out new measures aimed at ending leaks of classified information after a spate of recent leaks.
Those leaks affected an ongoing intelligence operation against the al Qaeda arm in Yemen back in May, and included recent disclosures about the classified drone program and a cyber warfare program known as Stuxnet, aimed at an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility.
A source tells CNN that Clapper believes the source of such leaks span multiple government agencies, departments and branches of government.
While the new measures are expected to apply only to the intelligence community that Clapper oversees, they are not expected to apply to members of the National Security Council, who advise the president on sensitive and classified programs.
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