THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Director of National Security and all around national disgrace James Clapper has issued a new directive designed to keep secret all that the nation's secret agencies do.

Employees of U.S. intelligence agencies have been barred from discussing any intelligence-related matter - even if it isn’t classified - with journalists, under a new directive issued by Director of National Security James Clapper.

Intelligence agency employees who violate the policy could suffer career-ending losses of their security clearances or out-right termination, and those who disclose classified information could face criminal prosecution, according to the directive signed by Clapper on March 20.

Under the order, only the director or deputy head of an intelligence agency, public affairs officials and those authorized by a public affairs official may have contact with journalists on intelligence-related matters.

The order, which was made public on Monday by Steven Aftergood, who runs the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy, is sweeping in its definition of intelligence-related matters.

“The directive is limited to contact with the media about intelligence related-information, including intelligence sources, methods, activities and judgments,” says the order, which doesn’t distinguish between classified and unclassified matters.

It also includes a sweeping definition of who is a journalist, which it asserts is “any person . . . engaged in the collection, production, or dissemination to the public of information in any form related to topics of national security.”

The order represents the latest move by the Obama administration to stifle leaks. It bolsters another administration initiative, called the Insider Threat Program, which requires federal employees to report co-workers who show any of a broad variety of “high risk” behaviors that could indicate that they could be sources of unauthorized releases of classified or unclassified material.

Needless to say this will not stop those authorized to leak certified "correct information" to those the government likes. Nor will it prevent spies and other of that trade from plying their trade. If someone is courageous enough, it won't even stop whistleblowers. It's sole purpose is to prevent American citizens from knowing the extent to which their government commits horrid deeds, illegal activities or just plain fails at the cost of Millions of taxpayer dollars. What you don't know won't hurt us seems to be their motto.