18 U.S.C. § 2388
Section 2388 · Activities affecting armed forces during war
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 9 court decisions — leading case United States v. Gaudin (1994)
Most recently applied in 573 F. Supp. 2d 436 - United States v. Prosperi (August 2008)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies; or
Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or the United States, or attempts to do so—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
(b) If two or more persons conspire to violate subsection (a) of this section and one or more such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in said subsection (a).
(c) Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offense under this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(d) This section shall apply within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, and on the high seas, as well as within the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on sections 33, 34, 35, 37 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense (June 15, 1917, ch. 30, title I, §§3, 4, 5, 8, 40 Stat. 219; Mar. 3, 1921, ch. 136, 41 Stat. 1359; Mar. 28, 1940, ch. 72, §2, 54 Stat. 79).
Sections 33, 34, 35, and 37 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense, were consolidated. Sections 34, 35, and 37 of title 50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense, are also incorporated in sections 791, 792, and 794 of this title, to which they relate.
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000” in last par. of subsec. (a) and in subsec. (c).
Repeals
Section 7 of act June 30, 1953, ch. 175, 67 Stat. 134, repealed Joint Res. July 3, 1952, ch. 570, §1(a)(29), 66 Stat. 333; Joint Res. Mar. 31, 1953, ch. 13, §1, 67 Stat. 18, which had provided that this section should continue in force until six months after the termination of the National emergency proclaimed by 1950 Proc. No. 2914 which is set out as a note preceding section 1 of Appendix to Title 50, War and National Defense.
Repeal of Extensions of War-time Provisions
Section 6 of Joint Res. July 3, 1952, repealed Joint Res. Apr. 14, 1952, ch. 204, 66 Stat. 54, as amended by Joint Res. May 28, 1952, ch. 339, 66 Stat. 96. Intermediate extensions by Joint Res. June 14, 1952, ch. 437, 66 Stat. 137, and Joint Res. June 30, 1952, ch. 526, 66 Stat. 296, which continued provisions until July 3, 1952, expired by their own terms.
Canal Zone
Applicability of section to Canal Zone, see section 14 of this title.
Cross References
Federal retirement benefits, forfeiture upon conviction of offenses described hereunder, see section 8312 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Forfeiture of veterans’ benefits upon conviction under this section, see section 6105 of Title 38, Veterans’ Benefits.
Jurisdiction of offenses, see section 3241 of this title.
Letters, writings, etc., in violation of this section as nonmailable, see section 1717 of this title.