Book Launch of “The Spy Files” highlights FBI surveillance controversy

Political activist and author Kenneth Eade announced today the launch of the newest legal thriller in his “Brent Marks Legal Thrillers” faction series, “The Spy Files.” “The Spy Files” is about a lawyer who takes a Freedom of Information case for a journalist.  After classified documents are accidentally released to him by the FBI, the journalist is prosecuted for not returning them, and the lawyer is prosecuting for aiding and abetting.  “‘The Spy Files’ is an alarming expose of the threat faced by privacy today from the ever-growing surveillance apparatus that has been justified in the name of national security or the war on terror,” says Eade.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is frequently used by reporters in order to obtain information from the government.  In 2006, the FBI claimed that it had inadvertently sent classified and privileged documents to the Washington Post, and requested the Post to return them, claiming that any further review, disclosure, retention, and/or dissemination of the classified document may be a federal crime. The Post returned the document, because it did not directly relate to the story it was working on (Editor & Publisher, March 3, 2006, Post Did Not Feel it Had to Return Classified Document.)  An article in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Vol. 163, 1038, Abel, Do You Have to Keep the Government’s Secrets? notes that: "while no journalists have ever been prosecuted for publishing classified information, now such a prosecution is cause for concern, even for those who think the First Amendment would ultimately prevail.”

The danger in the government using the Espionage Act is that its misuse is stifling freedom of the press and freedom of expression, making government less transparent.  The federal government has so much power with regard to federal prosecutions that it is virtually impossible for an ordinary citizen to defend him or herself if they decide to charge or indict you.

“The Spy Files” is the latest outing of Kenneth Eade, who has been hailed by critics as “one of the strongest thriller writers on the scene.”  It goes on sale in bookstores March 8, 2016.  For more information on his political and legal thrillers, including “The Spy Files,” visit: http://kennetheade.com

Contact Information

Kenneth Eade

Author

Times Square Publishing

(1) (310) 889-0772

info@kennetheade.com