State Department: No WikiLeaks Peeking on 'Personal Time'

The State Department has sent out a memo to all employees in its Consular Affairs-Passport division telling them they can't read leaked confidential documents posted by WikiLeaks on their 'personal time.'

The memo was obtained by Gawker, which published it late Wednesday.

Other agencies have left open the question of whether employees were permitted to browse WikiLeaks on non-work computers. Preventing employees from viewing the classified material while not in a federal workplace could be illegal, Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law with expertise in whistleblower protection and national security, told Nextgov Tuesday.

The State Department memo states: "Although legitimate reasons may exist for certain individuals in their official capacities to review 'Wikileaks documents,' with few exceptions, PPT employees have not been assigned work or projects related to 'Wikileaks documents,' . . . Accordingly, PPT employees shall not access any classified documents . . . during business hours or on their personal time."