[scottie_m]

He’s not being charged for what he published, he’s being charged with conspiracy to “hack” as it were. If you’re asking whether something stops being a crime because you did it for virtuous reasons, obviously the answer is no from a legal perspective.

[GordonS]

That is what I'm asking - Assange aside, surely this can apply to any number of whistle-blowing scenarios, and whistle-blowing laws should provide protections from law under certain circumstances?

Don't the ends justify the means, especially if far greater crimes are revealed as a result?