>It's a strange tactic, though, since as far as I know there are no exceptions for journalists to break US federal laws. There is a strong social and instituti

>It's a strange tactic, though, since as far as I know there are no exceptions for journalists to break US federal laws. There is a strong social and institutional norm that we don't prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, even though it is against the law. The government is even sort of maintaining that norm here, by charging the password cracking instead of the publication.