Reference no: EM133334115

Several members of Congress and the Obama Administration suggested that Assange should indeed face criminal prosecution for posting and disseminating to the media thousands of secret diplomatic cables containing candid-and often extremely embarrassing -assessments from American diplomats. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell went so far as to label Assange a high-tech terrorist. "He has done enormous damage to our country and I think he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," McConnell said on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday. Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday vowed to examine every statute possible to bring charges against Assange, including some that have never been used to prosecute a publisher. And in the Senate, some members are already readying a bill that could lower the current legal threshold for when revealing state secrets is considered a crime.

1. Describe the constitutional principle at issue in this event and how the Supreme Court helped shape it.

2. In the context of this scenario, explain how the principle described in Part A affects the behavior of the press.

3. In the context of the scenario, explain how the interactions among the three branches relate to the tension between public order and individual rights.