Publishing State secrets is not a first amendment right.

Thanks JAP. No it is not, also publishing White House leaks is not.

This is a slippery slope and while too detailed to get into in a single LP blog comment, the SC ruling on the Pentagon Papers *might* have set a precedent that impacts Assange's case. One "precedent" - without any legal standing, but bears revealing - is that the govt. has never successfully prosecuted a journalist for violating the Espionage Act.

I will admit I'm torn; one one hand, some sensitive information was revealed that probably put some lives in danger, perhaps even led to someone being killed. OTOH, without this information, we would not have known how far reaching "The Deep State" is. In my less-than-knowledgeable opinion on the legality, Manning is the real criminal in all this and Assange holds the same status as did the NYT in the Pentagon Papers incident.

Obama pardoned Manning w/out so much of a stir in the press and not a "lot" of outrage from the public; if Trump were to pardon Assange, the press couldn't help but sing his praises for his part in keeping the freedom of the press.

Oh, wait....sheesh, I must have been temporarily insane. Forget what I just said.

Thanks Mike. Pres Trump could be sainted and still be labeled as the devil incarnate by leftist.