By Suing WikiLeaks, DNC Could Endanger Principles of Press Freedom

https://cpj.org/blog/2018/05/by-suing-wikileaks-dnc-could-endanger-principles-o.php

"I'm unhappy that there's even an allegation that you could be held liable for publishing leaked information that you didn't have anything to do with obtaining," said George Freeman, a former lawyer for The New York Times and executive director of the independent advisory group, Media Law Resource Center. James Goodale, the First Amendment lawyer who defended The New York Times in the 1971 Pentagon Papers case, said that the suit appeared to be the first time WikiLeaks has been sued for a journalistic function. Goodale, a senior adviser to CPJ and former board chair, added that the DNC had "paid zero attention to the First Amendment ramifications of their suit."

The DNC argues that WikiLeaks was involved in a conspiracy, rendering the normally protected act of publicizing documents tantamount to the criminal act of hacking the servers. Its suit contends that WikiLeaks and Assange violated laws that ban disseminating trade secrets and forbid wiretapping. To tie WikiLeaks and Assange to the underlying illegal act of hacking, the DNC cited the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a law originally intended to tie street-level criminals to gang leaders.

What are you talking about. Libel laws exist and have been used for some time now. So it's not like lawsuits haven't happened in the past and nothing catastrophic occurred.

This is a waste of time. The DNC should focus their efforts developing a platform people can actually get excited about.

Interesting. If I read this correctly, the suit hinges on them being coconspirators in the hack, which would be high hurdle to clear.