>For a US citizen who has been given classified information it may be illegal and treasonous to leak classified US information to some one who doesn't have the

>For a US citizen who has been given classified information it may be illegal and treasonous to leak classified US information to some one who doesn't have the clearance to get access to it. Actually, here in the US, we don't have licensed journalists. As such anyone may act as one. Government employees (including members of the military) and contractors can be and have been charged and convicted with misuse/dissemination of classified information. What's more, private citizens working in the employ of a foreign government have also been charged and convicted for providing classified information to that foreign government. However, no US journalist (and remember, anyone can be a journalist) has ever been convicted under the Espionage Act. Ever. As such, it seems incredibly unlikely that Assange would be convicted under that Espionage Act. I guess we'll just have to see. I take issue with the title of this posting, as (at least in the UK[0]), an Extradition Hearing is not a trial, nor is it intended to be one. [0] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/extradition-processes-and-review https://www.gov.uk/guidance/extradition-processes-and-review