2010 FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL
CHAPTER TWO - OFFENSE CONDUCT
PART M - OFFENSES INVOLVING NATIONAL DEFENSE AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
3.ESPIONAGE AND RELATED OFFENSES
§2M3.4. Losing National Defense Information
(a)Base Offense Level:
(1)18, if top secret information was lost; or
(2)13, otherwise.
Commentary
Statutory Provisions: 18 U.S.C. § 793(f).
Application Note:
1.See Commentary to §2M3.1.
2.If the defendant was convicted of 18 U.S.C. § 793(d) or (e) for the willful transmission or communication of intangible information with reason to believe that it could be used to the injury of the United States or the advantage of a foreign nation, apply §2M3.2.
Background. Offenses prosecuted under this statute generally do not involve subversive conduct on behalf of a foreign power, but rather the loss of classified information by the gross negligence of an employee of the federal government or a federal contractor.
Historical Note: Effective November 1, 1987.