Julian Assange Strikes Plea Deal, Will Return to Australia
After years of fighting extradition from the United Kingdom to the U.S. on charges related to his publication of secret cables about the Iraq War, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to court documents filed on Monday. The Justice Department expects Assange to return home to Australia after a plea hearing Tuesday morning.
The agreement would bring to an end Assange’s lengthy standoff with the White House, which has sparked diplomatic tensions and global concern about U.S. hypocrisy when it comes to advancing freedom of the press.
In 2018, the Justice Department indicted Assange in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on charges of hacking and unauthorized access to classified information. After spending almost seven years living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he was arrested in 2019 for extradition on the U.S. charges. Last month, a London court ruled Assange could continue to appeal his extradition.
On Monday, federal prosecutors filed updated charges with the U.S. district court in the Northern Mariana Islands, along with a letter requesting a hearing on Tuesday. According to the letter, prosecutors expect Assange to plead guilty. The remote district was selected “in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental........
© The Intercept
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