The filing was ordered by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who wanted the government to deal with constitutional issues raised by the defense in arguments on March 24 to dismiss the charges.

Ellis said that although the espionage statute had been around for almost 90 years, there were few precedents he could follow and that Rosen and Weissman were the first non-government employees to be indicted for receiving and transmitting national defense information orally.

The case has drawn attention from First Amendment lawyers because the judge, the prosecutors and the defense attorneys have all noted that the two lobbyists, in receiving and disseminating classified information, are doing what journalists, academics and experts at think tanks do every day.