Global InformationGraymail information
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Graymail is the threatened revelation of state secrets in order to manipulate legal proceedings. It is distinct from blackmail, which may include threats of revelation against, and manipulation of, any private individual. Graymail is used as a defense tactic, forcing the government to drop a case to avoid revealing national secrets.
Graymail can occur in two ways:
- To straightforwardly blackmail the government, forcing it to drop the case using the threat that if the trial proceeds the defendant will reveal classified information he or she already knows.
- To request use of classified material, e.g. as evidence, in the trial. The defendant speculates that the government will be unwilling to make the material fully available to the case, and that this will raise the possibility, in the eyes of the judge or jury, that the unreleased material might clear the defendant, making it difficult to prove guilt.[1]
In the United States, the Classified Information Procedures Act of 1980, also known as the Graymail Law, was designed to counter the second tactic above by allowing judges to review classified material in camera, so that the prosecution can proceed without fear of publicly disclosing sensitive intelligence.[2]
- ^ David Corn (6 February 2006). "Will Scooter Libby Graymail the CIA?". The Nation. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ crimesofwar.org