Yes, and the issues are: how many, what kind, who gets to approve the secrecy and when is it wrong? Government should never violate the Individual Right to Privacy but there is no Right to a wrong. An individual has no Right to keep crimes secret or a responsibility to expose them.
The indictment of Julian Assange about breaking into the U.S. government’s computers is supposed to be the crime here but the mere possession of secret info is always a crime and that’s the essential and existential issue here.. . Another problem is the distinction. People can cite “one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of the United States,” which is what the indictment specifically accuses Assange of doing, — breaking into a computer. Assange was conspiring with Manning to crack a password stored on Defense Department computers.
That, say experts, is a crime that stays well away from press freedom issues. No it doesn’t.. Not at all…
“Journalists do not assist sources in cracking passwords. Journalists are actually given legal training to tell them NOT to do stuff like that,” said Bradley Moss, a Washington lawyer who focuses on national security issues.
But Assange’s supporters say that the case is still about media freedom.
His arrest constitutes “an unprecedented effort by the United States seeking to extradite a foreign journalist to face criminal charges for publishing truthful information,” said Assange’s US lawyer Barry Pollack. Yes, we get that and the information was obtained by a break-in. Breaking into a computer is a crime. Then he stole secret information. It’s like breaking into a vault to steal some papers. The breaking into the vault is the crime that’s similar to what Assange is being charged with. But, … no matter how the secrte info was obtained, it’s a crime. The issue is in this cas should it be a crime.
If he had just published what Manning stole, supposedly, he would be in the clear but he helped Manning with the break-in. The case is muddled… Most people are with Assange. The Ratio is huge..
What will Trump do?? What should he do? This will not end well. It’s in the middle of ending and will remain so for decades. Perhaps it will never end, this oppression and control by oppressors and controllers. . ..
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