Julian Assange has spent the last seven years int he Ecuadorian embassy in London, hiding out from numerous nations wishing to arrest him. His man claim of asylum seems to be that he thinks that the US would execute him for publishing secrets provided to him by Bradley Manning. The Ecudarians withdrew asylum, and the British police frogmarched Assange out of the embassy in what can be safely described as a circus. The United States has no “official secrets act,” unlike police states like the United Kingdom. As a consequence, if you come into possession of secret documents through no illegal actions of your own, you should be able to go public with them, especially if the secrets do no encompass things like how to build a nuke or endanger ongoing activities (see: “The Pentagon Papers“).
But note the caveat there: “through no illegal actions of your own.” The US is alleging that Assange didn’t just receive Mannings data out of the blue, but engaged in “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.” That’s a *whole* different thing.
If you buy a secret document off ebay, you’re in the clear. If you find a secret document in the street or in the trash, you’re in the clear. If someone gives or mails you a secret document, you’re in the clear. However… if you *steal* a secret document, you’re in trouble. Or if you bribe or blackmail someone with access to give you that document. Or if you aid them in the theft of that document. This should be pretty clear, and the First Amendment has nothing to do with it. Whether or not you are a journalist has nothing to do with it.
I have no idea what the sentencing rules are for “conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.” It would be amusing as hell if he is tried, convicted and sentenced to something like six months.