Quote Originally Posted by lowspeed_highdrag View Post
Are you serious?
Yes, there are laws against releasing classified information. Those laws are necessary and you have either broken them or you have not. The mess we find ourselves in as a country is because there are no absolutes. Everything is open to interpretation and "considering the situation", values clarification hogwash. You are either obeying the laws, or you are not. Breaking a law for the right reason is still breaking the law.

Our court systems were set up with the concept that there is a conviction AND a penalty phase. The penalty phase is where the sentencing can utilize discretion. However, our legal system has sunken to the point where the charging and trial phase are using "intent" discretion where it was never intended to be. Take a law history class and it is easy to see that where we are is nowhere close to the original intent of the US justice system.

Can I conceive of a situation where breaking a law, and taking the risk of being sentenced as a traitor might be beneficial, even preferable? Sure. But that is a different discussion.