US Code Title 18 Section 794

CITE

    18 USC Sec. 794                                             01/05/2009

EXPCITE

    TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
    PART I - CRIMES
    CHAPTER 37 - ESPIONAGE AND CENSORSHIP

HEAD

    Sec. 794. Gathering or delivering defense information to aid
      foreign government

STATUTE

      (a) Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be
    used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a
    foreign nation, communicates, delivers, or transmits, or attempts
    to communicate, deliver, or transmit, to any foreign government, or
    to any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign
    country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States,
    or to any representative, officer, agent, employee, subject, or
    citizen thereof, either directly or indirectly, any document,
    writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic
    negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, note, instrument, appliance,
    or information relating to the national defense, shall be punished
    by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life,
    except that the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless the
    jury or, if there is no jury, the court, further finds that the
    offense resulted in the identification by a foreign power (as
    defined in section 101(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
    Act of 1978) of an individual acting as an agent of the United
    States and consequently in the death of that individual, or
    directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or
    satellites, early warning systems, or other means of defense or
    retaliation against large-scale attack; war plans; communications
    intelligence or cryptographic information; or any other major
    weapons system or major element of defense strategy.
      (b) Whoever, in time of war, with intent that the same shall be
    communicated to the enemy, collects, records, publishes, or
    communicates, or attempts to elicit any information with respect to
    the movement, numbers, description, condition, or disposition of
    any of the Armed Forces, ships, aircraft, or war materials of the
    United States, or with respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed
    plans or conduct of any naval or military operations, or with
    respect to any works or measures undertaken for or connected with,
    or intended for the fortification or defense of any place, or any
    other information relating to the public defense, which might be
    useful to the enemy, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment
    for any term of years or for life.
      (c) If two or more persons conspire to violate this section, and
    one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the
    conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject
    to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of
    such conspiracy.
      (d)(1) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall
    forfeit to the United States irrespective of any provision of State
    law -
        (A) any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds
      the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of
      such violation, and
        (B) any of the person's property used, or intended to be used,
      in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission
      of, such violation.
    For the purposes of this subsection, the term "State" includes a
    State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any
    commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
      (2) The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a
    conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the
    defendant forfeit to the United States all property described in
    paragraph (1) of this subsection.
      (3) The provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (e) through (p) of
    section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control
    Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853(b), (c), and (e)-(p)) shall apply to -
        (A) property subject to forfeiture under this subsection;
        (B) any seizure or disposition of such property; and
        (C) any administrative or judicial proceeding in relation to
      such property,
    if not inconsistent with this subsection.
      (4) Notwithstanding section 524(c) of title 28, there shall be
    deposited in the Crime Victims Fund in the Treasury all amounts
    from the forfeiture of property under this subsection remaining
    after the payment of expenses for forfeiture and sale authorized by
    law.

SOURCE

    (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 737; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1261,
    title II, Sec. 201, 68 Stat. 1219; Pub. L. 99-399, title XIII, Sec.
    1306(b), Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 898; Pub. L. 100-690, title VII,
    Sec. 7064, Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4404; Pub. L. 103-322, title
    VI, Sec. 60003(a)(2), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1968; Pub. L. 103-
    359, title VIII, Sec. 804(b)(2), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3440;
    Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Secs. 604(b)(2), 607(b), Oct. 11, 1996,
    110 Stat. 3506, 3511.)

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES

      Based on sections 32 and 34 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War
    and National Defense (June 15, 1917, ch. 30, title I, Secs. 2, 4,
    40 Stat. 218, 219).
      Section consolidates sections 32 and 34 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940
    ed., War and National Defense.
      The words "or induces or aids another" were omitted as
    unnecessary in view of definition of "principal" in section 2 of
    this title.
      The conspiracy provision of said section 34 was also incorporated
    in section 2388 of this title.
      Minor changes were made in phraseology.

REFERENCES IN TEXT

      Section 101(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
    1978, referred to in subsec. (a), is classified to section 1801(a)
    of Title 50, War and National Defense.

AMENDMENTS

      1996 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-294, Sec. 604(b)(2), amended
    directory language of Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 60003(a)(2). See 1994
    Amendment note below.
      Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104-294, Sec. 607(b), inserted at end
    "For the purposes of this subsection, the term 'State' includes a
    State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any
    commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States."
      1994 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-322, as amended by Pub. L. 104-
    294, Sec. 604(b)(2), substituted for period at end ", except that
    the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless the jury or, if
    there is no jury, the court, further finds that the offense
    resulted in the identification by a foreign power (as defined in
    section 101(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
    1978) of an individual acting as an agent of the United States and
    consequently in the death of that individual, or directly concerned
    nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, early warning
    systems, or other means of defense or retaliation against large-
    scale attack; war plans; communications intelligence or
    cryptographic information; or any other major weapons system or
    major element of defense strategy."
      Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 103-359 substituted "(p)" for "(o)" in
    two places.
      1988 - Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 100-690 substituted "amounts" for
    "amount".
      1986 - Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 99-399 added subsec. (d).
      1954 - Act Sept. 3, 1954, increased the penalty for peacetime
    espionage and corrected a deficiency on the sentencing authority by
    increasing penalty to death or imprisonment for any term of years.
                     EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT
      Amendment by section 604(b)(2) of Pub. L. 104-294 effective Sept.
    13, 1994, see section 604(d) of Pub. L. 104-294, set out as a note
    under section 13 of this title.
                      TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF SECTION
      Temporary extension of section, see section 798 of this title.
      Section 7 of act June 30, 1953, ch. 175, 67 Stat. 133, repealed
    Joint Res. July 3, 1952, ch. 570, Sec. 1(a)(29), 66 Stat. 333;
    Joint Res. Mar. 31, 1953, ch. 13, Sec. 1, 67 Stat. 18, which had
    provided that this section should continue in force until six
    months after the termination of the National emergency proclaimed
    by 1950 Proc. No. 2914 which is set out as a note preceding section
    1 of Appendix to Title 50, War and National Defense.
      Section 6 of Joint Res. July 3, 1952, repealed Joint Res. Apr.
    14, 1952, ch. 204, 66 Stat. 54, as amended by Joint Res. May 28,
    1952, ch. 339, 66 Stat. 96. Intermediate extensions by Joint Res.
    June 14, 1952, ch. 437, 66 Stat. 137, and Joint Res. June 30, 1952,
    ch. 526, 66 Stat. 296, which continued provisions until July 3,
    1952, expired by their own terms.
         INDICTMENT FOR VIOLATING THIS SECTION; LIMITATION PERIOD
      Limitation period in connection with indictments for violating
    this section, see note set out under section 792 of this title.