U.S. Prosecutors Will Not Charge Wikileaks Founder Assange Over CIA Leaks

Politico: Assange won’t face charges over role in devastating CIA leak

The decision surprised national security experts and some former officials, given prosecutors’ recent decision to go after the WikiLeaks founder on Espionage Act charges.

The Justice Department has decided not to charge Julian Assange for his role in exposing some of the CIA’s most secret spying tools, according to a U.S. official and two other people familiar with the case.

It’s a move that has surprised national security experts and some former officials, given prosecutors’ recent decision to aggressively go after the WikiLeaks founder on more controversial Espionage Act charges that some legal experts said would not hold up in court. The decision also means that Assange will not face punishment for publishing one of the CIA’s most potent arsenals of digital code used to hack devices, dubbed Vault 7. The leak — one of the most devastating in CIA history — not only essentially rendered those tools useless for the CIA, it gave foreign spies and rogue hackers access to them.

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Update: Assange won't be charged in CIA leak: report (The Hill)

WNU Editor: There is no need to add these additional charges. There are currently multiple charges against him that will put him in prison (if convicted) for a very long time .... Assange hit with 17 new charges, including Espionage Act violations (The Hill). As to what is my take on this entire affair. If a U.S. journalist and/or news organization did what he did, they would not be facing these charges. But in the case of Wikileaks and Julian Assange specifically, the decision has been made that this is not an organization that strives to publish truthful information on government abuse,  but instead it and its founder are actively involved in espionage against the U.S.. IMHO this is a slippery slope, and all journalists should be aware on where this is heading. The legal precedent it could set will impact on how news organizations cover the government will be reported.