And he's not a journalist - hence why the New York Post and Guardian (from memory) journalists have never feared extradition (or charges when US based) for their 'reporting' of the leaks - not that you'd hear that from his legal team and supporters, of course.
They weighed potential legal problems against public interest - which is why it's interesting loosely tracking what outlets went for what information (and to what degree), even though it came from a central pool of shared info.
Aside from the fact journalists operate within the law, and when it comes to security the UK certainly does have means to block pre-publish and I guess the US the same - then it comes down to the ethical question of true public interest in terms of 'post and be damned'.
Wikileaks don't operate with ethnics, with content oversight or framing, they just release documents without any attention to the question at play. That's file sharing, Christ even the old Sunday Sport and National Enquirer are a step above them on the journalism pyramid.
His US crime - yet to be proven - is whether or not, and to what degree IF he was, was he complicit in the hack/theft of the original material by Manning. Most believe a max 5 yr sentence if proven guilty even then.
I believe he potentially faced longer if convicted in Sweden for sexual assault/rape.
Hmmmmm, funny that.
I was about to say this is the wrong place for that mini rant, but ultimately it comes down to Assange's own politics in life, so maybe the right place lol
