[bbb]

(AFAIK Gruber isn't a lawyer, so it's just an uneducated opinion)

That's a bit harsh; there's a large difference between an "uneducated opinion" and a "carefully researched assessment by a non-lawyer". Based on your criteria, no journalist could ever write about any topic but journalism.

[stcredzero]

Based on what I've seen, especially in science journalism, there are a lot of journalists who should be topic-restricted in this way.

[jrockway]

Considering no charges have been filed, it's far from clear that anything illegal happened.