Is Assange now unprosecutable?

[Steve Kinney]

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On 03/12/2017 11:28 PM, jim bell wrote:
> That recent leak of America's hacking secrets comes at an opportune
> time for Assange.  He may have to leave that embassy in London
> within a few months.  Generally, and unlike MY trial, a Federal
> criminal defendant gets great leeway to call witnesses for his
> defense.  Now that he has published the 'keys to the kingdom', I
> doubt whether it would even be possible to prosecute him.  Imagine
> all the witnesses he could call just to verify the genuineness of
> those recent documents!
> 
> No doubt the person or people who leaked that material to Wikileaks
> knew this.   Somebody deserves some big congratulations.

One thing I have never understood:  Prosecute Assange where, for what?
 It is alleged that a foreign national on foreign soil has published
"top secret" U.S. military and diplomatic documents provided
anonymously by a U.S. national (Chelsea Manning), and/or has published
proprietary information transferred illegally by U.S. citizens acting
on U.S. soli (DNC mail, RIP Seth Rich, etc.).  How will a Prosecutor
assert that a U.S. Court has jurisdiction over a foreign publisher who
received these materials and published them gratis?  (Excluding
"specious argument constructed for public consumption, corrupt Judge,
rubber stamp.")

Does the U.S. State have sovereign authority over the citizens of
"other" sovereign nations acting outside U.S. borders?  Maybe I'm just
being dense here.  Can somebody clue me in?

Also, per Jim's post, I am having a hard time wrapping my head around
the argument that publishing true and damaging information somehow
creates a barrier to prosecution.  A public opinion issue or a legal
one?  Either way I'm not getting it.

:o)

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