Graymail is a form of coercion similar to blackmail wherein a defendant threatens revelation of state secrets during a trial. Graymail is used as a defense tactic, usually in an attempt to force the government to drop a case to avoid revealing national secrets. [1]
Graymail can occur in two ways:
In the United States, the Classified Information Procedures Act of 1980, also known as the Graymail Law, was designed to counter the second tactic above by allowing judges to review classified material in camera , so that the prosecution can proceed without fear of publicly disclosing sensitive intelligence. [3]