There is an important difference between Assange and Ellsberg so your comparison of the two isn’t a good one: Assange did not steal and leak the materials, he

There is an important difference between Assange and Ellsberg so your comparison of the two isn’t a good one: Assange did not steal and leak the materials, he was the outside party publishing them. On the other hand Ellsberg was the person working for the government who copied and leaked all the materials and knew he might face charges for that reason. In this comparison Manning would be compared to Ellsberg. And Assange would be the reporter at The NY Times or WaPo (I’m brain farting here) who published them.