[Dimnos]

Originally Posted by The Bill of Rights

Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/cha...ranscript.html

Originally Posted by America.gov on Freedom of the Press

Although a cherished right of the people, freedom of the press is different from other liberties of the people in that it is both individual and institutional. It applies not just to a single person's right to publish ideas, but also to the right of print and broadcast media to express political views and to cover and publish news. A free press is, therefore, one of the foundations of a democratic society, and as Walter Lippmann, the 20th-century American columnist, wrote, "A free press is not a privilege, but an organic necessity in a great society." Indeed, as society has grown increasingly complex, people rely more and more on newspapers, radio, and television to keep abreast with world news, opinion, and political ideas. One sign of the importance of a free press is that when antidemocratic forces take over a country, their first act is often to muzzle the press.


http://www.america.gov/st/democracyh...0.6333842.html

Originally Posted by Thomas Jefferson

The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.


http://www.america.gov/st/democracyh...0.6333842.html

Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster

Press ~ 7. a: the gathering and publishing or broadcasting of news

I fail to see how Wikileaks isnt a member of "The Press" and not protected as such. On top of that some people were talking about why he didnt pass it on to other news outlets as if doing that would make the release of this info "less wrong" or perhaps "more right". Fact is he did give the info to other news outlets. The Guardian, The New York Times and Der Spiegel all received this info and published it just as the Wikileaks website did. Why are none of these outlets not being called terrorists? Because they are only passing on information given to them from another source? Wait... Thats exactly what Wikileaks did.