Federal prosecutors investigating how the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks obtained large amounts of classified data are exploring potential criminal conspiracy charges “If the Justice Department concludes that a crime has been committed, it will twist itself like a pretzel to avoid using the Espionage Act, not only because it is old and vague but because it raises a number of First Amendment for problems prosecutors,” said Abbe D. Lowell, a Washington defense attorney who has handled leak cases. Growing number of Democrats are threatening to defy the White House over the national debt, joining Republican calls for deficit cuts as a requirement for consenting to lift the country’s borrowing limit.