                 TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
 
                             PART I--CRIMES
 
                CHAPTER 93--PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
 
Sec. 1905. Disclosure of confidential information generally

    Whoever, being an officer or employee of the United States or of any 
department or agency thereof, any person acting on behalf of the Office 
of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, or agent of the Department of 
Justice as defined in the Antitrust Civil Process Act (15 U.S.C. 1311-
1314), publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes known in any manner or 
to any extent not authorized by law any information coming to him in the 
course of his employment or official duties or by reason of any 
examination or investigation made by, or return, report or record made 
to or filed with, such department or agency or officer or employee 
thereof, which information concerns or relates to the trade secrets, 
processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus, or to the identity, 
confidential statistical data, amount or source of any income, profits, 
losses, or expenditures of any person, firm, partnership, corporation, 
or association; or permits any income return or copy thereof or any book 
containing any abstract or particulars thereof to be seen or examined by 
any person except as provided by law; shall be fined under this title, 
or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and shall be removed from 
office or employment.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 791; Pub. L. 96-349, Sec. 7(b), Sept. 
12, 1980, 94 Stat. 1158; Pub. L. 102-550, title XIII, Sec. 1353, Oct. 
28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3970; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 601(a)(8), 
Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3498.)


                      Historical and Revision Notes

    Based on section 176b of title 15, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Commerce and 
Trade; section 216 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed.; section 1335 of title 
19, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Customs Duties (R.S. Sec. 3167; Aug. 27, 1894, ch. 
349, Sec. 24, 28 Stat. 557; Feb. 26, 1926, ch. 27, Sec. 1115, 44 Stat. 
117; June 17, 1930, ch. 497, title III, Sec. 335, 46 Stat. 701; Jan. 27, 
1938, ch. 11, Sec. 2, 52 Stat. 8).
    Section consolidates section 176b of title 15, U.S.C., 1940 ed., 
Commerce and Trade; section 216 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., and 
section 1335 of title 19, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Customs Duties.
    Words ``or of any department or agency thereof'' and words ``such 
department or agency'' were inserted so as to eliminate any possible 
ambiguity as to scope of section. (See definition of ``department'' and 
``agency'' in section 6 of this title.)
    References to the offenses as misdemeanors, contained in all of said 
sections, were omitted in view of definitive section 1 of this title.
    The provisions of section 216 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., 
relating to publication of income tax data by ``any person'', were 
omitted as covered by section 55(f)(1) of title 26, U.S.C., 1940 ed., 
Internal Revenue Code.
    Minor changes were made in translations and phraseology.

                       References in Text

    The Antitrust Civil Process Act, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 87-
664, Sept. 19, 1962, 76 Stat. 548, as amended, which is classified 
generally to chapter 34 (Sec. 1311 et seq.) of Title 15, Commerce and 
Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short 
Title note set out under section 1311 of Title 15 and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1996--Pub. L. 104-294 substituted ``fined under this title'' for 
``fined not more than $1,000''.
    1992--Pub. L. 102-550 inserted ``any person acting on behalf of the 
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight,'' after ``or agency 
thereof,''.
    1980--Pub. L. 96-349 provided for punishment and removal from office 
of an agent of the Department of Justice as defined in the Antitrust 
Civil Process Act for disclosure of confidential information.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in title 5 section 3374; title 7 
sections 136h, 450i, 5662; title 15 sections 330b, 771, 773, 796, 1193, 
1335a, 2217, 2613; title 21 sections 360ll, 360nn; title 26 section 
7213; title 29 section 664; title 30 section 1423; title 33 sections 
1318, 1320, 1322, 1369, 1513; title 42 sections 300j-4, 2210b, 4912, 
5916, 5919, 6274, 6921, 6927, 6991d, 7135, 7412, 7542, 7607, 7621, 9208, 
9310, 9604, 9660, 11023, 11042, 13253, 13255, 13293; title 46 section 
4309; title 49 sections 106, 1114, 30167, 32307, 32505, 32708, 32912, 
33116, 60117.
