Assange and Wikileaks

[melm00se]

the question is:

Can Julian Assange and Wikileaks be charged, tried, convicted and sentenced for publishing classified material?

the answer is: No as this is actually settled case law.

The case: New York Times Co. v. United States

The issue: Can classified documents in the possession of a newspaper be published?

The ruling: The USSC ruled in favor of the NYT and WaPo. The decision (6-3) in part stated:

In order to exercise prior restraint, the Government must show sufficient evidence that the publication would cause a “grave and irreparable” danger.

The Pentagon Papers and the Wikileak's documents are (probably) on par with each other and to convict Assange (and Wikileaks) the government would have to prove the "grave and irreparable" piece.

Plus there is the issue that Assange and Wikileaks did not publish these documents from within the USA so the State has no jurisdiction in Sweden where the alleged "crime" took place.

Please note PFC Bradley probably does not enjoy the same protection as he

(1) stole (not the right word but it's 5am in the morning and my brain isn't 100% yet) the documents in what could be considered espionage.
(2) acted inside the jurisdiction of the USA (a military or other federal facility in another country is considered de facto and de jure, by both US law and international, law as US territory.

[bemildred]

1. Correct, IMHO, but our current USSC seems somewhat cavalier about established case law etc.

Not to mention the rest of the government, where expediency, threats, and fear rule the day.

[melm00se]

2. The USSC and the 1st Amendment

The USSC has a long history of coming down on the side of free speech, even more so when there are precedents to fall back upon.

a federal prosecutor would be (should be) reluctant to take a case to trial when they strongly suspect that their possible conviction would be bounced by the federal appeals court and the precedent is there.

IMO, if this case were to go to trial, the deciding issue on whether or not Wikileaks/Assange could be charged and tried is going to be is: Wikileaks: a journalistic entity afforded 1st Amendment protection or not?

Again there is case law close to on point here. A federal judge in SC ruled that some bloggers are journalists and thus afforded the "free press" protection of the 1st amendemnt.