Case for Assange - he should be judged solely on the error of making a connection with Chelsea Manning. For the information was already out when he did what his job asks of him to do, which is to publish information which is handed to him and is of interest for the people.
Discussion
The guilt belongs to those who have broken their duty, not to those who have fulfilled it, against all odds.
For being in the army and making a commitment to serve the system is a word that has to be honored, no matter how flawed the system. When this fails, chaos follows.
Nobody is in the service of the State. People are in service of people. And the state is in the service of people too.