I think there's a genuine argument about whether Assange is a journalist; but let's leave that aside (more heat than light in that discussion as I have found ou

I think there's a genuine argument about whether Assange is a journalist; but let's leave that aside (more heat than light in that discussion as I have found out). One of the counts of the indictment is not about cajoling a source, or receiving secret documents: it's about actively engaging in an attempt to gain unauthorized access to a U.S. Government computer system. Isn't there an ethical line, at some point, in terms of the length a journalist can go to get the story? The UK scandal (News of the World; I think; not Daily Mail) you mentioned resulted in journalists going to prison for similar crimes. I think we're in a really peculiar place if distinctions like this turn on whether it's the right or wrong kind of public interest.