Not really.
The password cracking thing seems a thin reed to lean on.
The meat of the issue is the same in both cases: Publication of government secrets.
Ellsberg and Russo used the tech of the time: a photocopier.
Manning and Assange used the tech of the time: a computer.
You seem to be suggesting that if the photocopier had been password-protected, that would have been Totally Different.
I made this point when I suggested the various hypotheticals to you. So let’s narrow this down: If Daniel Ellsberg had had to crack a computer password to gain access to the Pentagon Papers, should he have been convicted?
Yes or no.
Or, if you wish, more detail, if it doesn’t admit of an easy yes or no answer.