US puts Assange charge in too-hard basket - report

US authorities have decided not to prosecute Wikileaker-in-chief Julian Assange, because to do so would mean also mean prosecutions of US-based media, according to The Washington Post.

The Post says it has had some off-the-record chats with Justice Department officials who have said it's proving hard to build a case against Assange. Figuring out how to sue the news outlets that published his leaks is easier but is a path few governments like to tread as it is a colossally bad look to do anything that even looks like it might in the right light resemble a clampdown on the free press.

If correct, the Post's story means Assange has nothing to fear if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy where he's been holed up for over a year. Assange retreated to the embassy because he feared extradition to Sweden, where he faces charges of sexual assault, would inevitably result in in extradition to the USA where he would be tried for crimes that could be punished by the death penalty.

There's no word on whether the USA is any nearer to making its intentions regarding Assange known. If it did declare it has no plans to haul him into its territory the rationale for Assange's ongoing stay at the embajada de ecuador en londres would look tenuous and the leaker's willingness to face Swedish justice would become the focus.

Assange has said the charges he faces in Sweden have no basis and that extradition documents were mistakenly issued because of over-zealous European warrant system.

This one clearly has a long way to run … ®