Legislation currently pending in the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., would require federal employees working at intelligence agencies to sign a contract stipulating that they would forfeit their federal pensions if they were caught leaking even non-classified information to the press, outside groups like Wikileaks, or even Congress. The provision was reportedly added to the intelligence authorization bill during a closed-door mark-up session last Tuesday.

“This provision is so dangerous because intelligence agencies often retaliate against whistleblowers by accusing of them of leaking information. For example, prominent whistleblower Dr. Frederic Whitehurst, who blew the whistle on forensic fraud and misconduct at the FBI crime lab, was falsely accused of leaking information,” says Lindsey Williams, director of advocacy and development at the National Whistleblowers Center.