https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180723/17421740295/no-matter-what-you-think-julian-assange-it-would-be-harmful-press-freedoms-us-to-prosecute-publishing-leaks.shtml

Let's be clear: I know that many people -- perhaps entirely reasonably -- really, really dislike Julian Assange and Wikileaks. For some people that feeling has been there for years. For others it's related directly to the role that Wikileaks played in helping to release hacked emails designed to impact the 2016 election. There certainly appears to be plenty of evidence that, at the very least, Wikileaks was in contact with Russian operatives and made plans to try to get and release documents at times that would have the maximum impact on the election. As I've said over the years, I don't have much respect for Assange who, among other things, often appears to be a total hypocrite. However, I have also made clear that prosecuting him and Wikileaks for doing nothing more than publishing leaked documents would set a horrible precedent. I feel similarly about the DNC's silly lawsuit as well.

The DOJ has apparently has been trying to indict Assange for more than 8 years now with nothing to show for it yet. In large part, this is because what Wikileaks has done is really no different than what any news publication does when publishing leaked documents. There may be laws against leaking certain documents to the press, but the First Amendment completely bars lawsuits against the recipients of leaks then publishing them.