Investigators pursued espionage charges against Mr. Franklin for more than a year, but Wednesday's complaint charges him not with spying but with the lesser offense of illegal disclosure of classified information.

A16 A Federal appeals court held a secret hearing about a matter with no name based on a sealed lower-court ruling apparently relating to illegal disclosures of grand jury material.

And to dramatize the point, he concluded his column by telling readers that The Plain Dealer was itself obliged to withhold stories based on illegal disclosures for fear of the legal consequences.

The court reversed a lower court's conviction of the publisher of Norfolk's The Virginian-Pilot for illegal disclosure of confidential proceedings before the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission about a judge's misconduct.

On June 5, Judge Lifland ruled against Mr. Torricelli, saying that the evidence he provided did not prove any illegal disclosures.

The judge said Ms. Miller had received subpoenas issued by a special prosecutor investigating "the potentially illegal disclosure of the identity of C.I.A. official Valerie Plame."

The grand jury in Virginia is examining consultants, Pentagon officials and military equipment contractors to determine whether to hand up charges of fraud, bribery, conspiracy, or the illegal disclosure of sensitive information about contracts.

"I'm also considering a range of other measures that would protect consumers against this type of improper and illegal disclosure," he said.

"The United States strongly condemns any illegal disclosure of classified information," state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

We remain concerned about these illegal disclosures and about concerns and risks to individuals.