56. Ruling In Southern District of New York

Judge Koeltl importantly emphasized that "Journalists are allowed to request documents that have been stolen andto publish those documents." The Judge also observed that such journalistic collaboration with sources is "common journalistic practice." That principle is important for investigative journalists who often receive information from whistleblowers. The Judge drew a comparison to the Pentagon Papers case of 1971, where the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the New York Times and Washington Post to publish secret documents on the Vietnam War provided by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. In that case the Nixon administration attempted to prevent the newspapers from publishing and threatened them with criminal prosecution. “If WikiLeaks could be held liable for publishing documents concerning the DNC’s political financial and voter-engagement strategies simply because the DNC labels them ‘secret’ and trade secrets, then so could any newspaper or other media outlet,” wrote District Judge John Koeltl. Judge Koeltl also noted that it is "constitutionally insignificant" whether WikiLeaks knew the published documents were acquired without permission, by hacking, or other means before they were obtained by WikiLeaks. "A person is entitled [to] publish stolen documents that the publisher requested from a source so long as the publisher did not participate in the theft."

Quote from The Trial of Julian Assange by Nils Melzer
Judge John Koeltl 31 July 2019