No Case Against WikiLeaks Assange

Prosecuting Julian Assange is tantamount to railing at the hired hand who left the barn door open and let the cows out. It's futile, pointless, and vindictive. Every legal expert that's looked at a possible Justice Department espionage prosecution of Assange has said pretty much the same thing. One, there's absolutely no proof that Assange stole classified US documents or even collaborated with, let alone directed, anyone to sneak into the vaults and steal the government documents. They were leaked to him and there are several well-identified likely sources for the leaks. Two, there's still a little thing called the First Amendment which means that the DOJ would have to haul the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other media outlets into court and make an espionage case against them for publishing the cables. You'd have a better chance of winning the Big Spin lottery prize without buying a ticket than that happening.

Third, there's nothing in the documents that reveal that any state secrets have hit print and the airwaves that directly harm US security or interests; embarrassing yes, harmful hardly. In other words US national security has hardly been endangered from Assange's stuff. In fact, the kind of stuff that's been published so far--Israel and Saudi Arabia chomping at the bit to sledgehammer Iran, chatter from and about UN diplomats, and atrocities in Afghanistan are not exactly the revelation of the ages.

Aside from a couple of women that Assange may or may not have groped, molested, or assaulted in Sweden and for which the Swedes and the Brits will have to sort out to decide his legal fate, Assange is pretty much home free on a US espionage prosecution. And that's the way it should be on WikiLeaks.