Plead to the computer tampering

The case for and against Julian Assange (lead image, 3rd from left) will keep him in the UK for at least eighteen months, probably two years, possibly three, according to leading London lawyers.  The UK will have a new government by then; the US too.

It would be cruel and unusual for the US courts to jail this guy for trying out a few passwords.  Assange lawyers are planning to let him stay in UK jails for over a year?

The Swedish charges are more of the nature of sexism than any forced crime.  I don't see it.  Assange gets his rep tarnished in any event, just plead the computer hacking, get the Swedish charges dismissed, and let Assange continue his Wikileaks program.

From the viewpoint of a citizen in California, none of this seems illegal at all. Trump would be a fool to jail this guy for any length of time for attempting a few random passwords.

Another view:

Actually, none of these things are true [formal charges] . Assange is being imprisoned under draconian conditions for journalism, and for journalism only. The Obama administration declined to prosecute him after WikiLeaks’ publication of the Manning leaks out of concern that doing so would endanger press freedoms, and the Obama administration didn’t have any more evidence at its disposal than the Trump administration has now. The “crime” Assange is accused of consists of nothing other than standard journalistic practicesthat investigative journalists engage in all the time, including source protection and encouraging the source to obtain more material. The only thing that has changed is an increased willingness in the White House to prosecute journalists for practicing journalism, and there are an abundance of reasons to believe that he will be hit with far more serious charges once extradited to US soil. They’re not going to all this trouble for a bail violation and a five-year maximum sentence.

I fail to understand the US position.  The story is over, the Mueller report released.  The DOJ has absolutely no reason to prosecute, unless they are still pissed about the Manning release.  But as pointed out, there is no prosecution the can overcome the right of journalism.  The DOJ has two choices. 1) Completely fuck this up or 2) Just offer Assange probation for the journalism breach, and move on. No one benefits from a bogus prosecution.