Information was copied, not stolen. This is about as correct as arguments around piracy equating downloading a film to stealing a car. The other party still has

Information was copied, not stolen. This is about as correct as arguments around piracy equating downloading a film to stealing a car. The other party still has the information, it's not stolen. In the case of a movie it was illegally copied, this is illegal under copyright law but is NOT stealing. Copying classified information you have been granted access to by the military because of your security clearance is illegal and punishable by court marshall but it's NOT stealing. A journalist disclosing classified information IS legal and always has been. If it wasn't then all of the journalists that published the cables in NYTimes and friends would be guilty of the same charges as Assange, i.e copying classified information from some source on the Internet and then disclosing it to their readers/viewers. However there is potentially SOME argument that Assange may be running afoul of the Espionage act because he is ACCUSED of aiding and abetting a member of the US military in exfiltrating classified information. This is illegal but it's definition is so broad that it would most likely need to be heard by the Supreme Court to clarify. i.e he isn't being charged with stealing because he didn't steal shit. He isn't being charged with disclosing secrets because that is legal. He is being charged with helping someone do something illegal and that is entirely different.