I could not disagree with you more. I have been trained both as a journalist and in military intelligence. My top secret crypto security clearance allowed me access to very sensitive military information that wasn't simply classified and restricted for nefarious reasons but for broader national security reasons that allow intelligence systems to operate.
"In total, Wikileaks published over 90,000 confidential documents about the Afghanistan war and 400,000 documents about the Iraq war. Those were provided by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. She was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in jail, but President Obama commuted her sentence after four years."
Assange did not do a journalist's job of evaluating and protecting sensitive national security data but simply dumped it on the World Wide Web for mass consumption. He coerced his source, analyst Chelsea Manning, to commit a crime and did not protect his/her identity afterwards. He did not release the information through responsible media channels like Daniel Ellsberg did through The Washington Post with the Pentagon Papers focused on the Vietnam War. The WP did a responsible job of editing and explaining the information to the public. Assange did not and data dumping of stolen classified documents is NOT protected under the First Amendment rights. Assange violated Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution by giving aid to enemies of the U.S. and violation of U.S. Espionage laws. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S3-C1-1/ALDE_00013524/#:~:text=Article%20III%2C%20Section%203%2C%20Clause,on%20Confession%20in%20open%20Court.
"If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime." Assange deserves his day in court. Like Manning, he can be pardoned afterwards, but it is important to set boundaries on espionage activities and have a precedent legally set. A crime has been committed. It won't be "enough" until a judge says so.
I could not disagree with you more. I have been trained both as a journalist and in military intelligence. My top secret crypto security clearance allowed me access to very sensitive military information that wasn't simply classified and restricted for nefarious reasons but for broader national security reasons that allow intelligence systems to operate.
"In total, Wikileaks published over 90,000 confidential documents about the Afghanistan war and 400,000 documents about the Iraq war. Those were provided by former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. She was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in jail, but President Obama commuted her sentence after four years."
Assange did not do a journalist's job of evaluating and protecting sensitive national security data but simply dumped it on the World Wide Web for mass consumption. He coerced his source, analyst Chelsea Manning, to commit a crime and did not protect his/her identity afterwards. He did not release the information through responsible media channels like Daniel Ellsberg did through The Washington Post with the Pentagon Papers focused on the Vietnam War. The WP did a responsible job of editing and explaining the information to the public. Assange did not and data dumping of stolen classified documents is NOT protected under the First Amendment rights. Assange violated Article III, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution by giving aid to enemies of the U.S. and violation of U.S. Espionage laws. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S3-C1-1/ALDE_00013524/#:~:text=Article%20III%2C%20Section%203%2C%20Clause,on%20Confession%20in%20open%20Court.
"If you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime." Assange deserves his day in court. Like Manning, he can be pardoned afterwards, but it is important to set boundaries on espionage activities and have a precedent legally set. A crime has been committed. It won't be "enough" until a judge says so.