In a stunning turn of events, the U.S. Justice Department has reached a plea deal with Julian Assange, the Australian editor and publisher who gained notoriety as the founder of WikiLeaks. This development marks the culmination of a long-running saga that involved international intrigue and legal battles spanning multiple continents.
Assange rose to prominence for his role in founding WikiLeaks, an anti-secrecy website that garnered massive attention by publishing nearly half a million documents related to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While his actions were hailed by press freedom advocates as exposing U.S. military misconduct, American prosecutors accused him of conspiring with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to illegally obtain and publish sensitive government records.
The charges against Assange included helping Manning steal classified diplomatic cables, which prosecutors argued endangered national security. The leaked documents published by WikiLeaks contained the names of individuals who had provided information to American and coalition forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as exposed journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and dissidents in repressive countries.
Manning, who was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and other offenses, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. However, she was released after about seven years behind bars following a commutation by President Barack Obama in 2017.
Assange, on the other hand, sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to the U.S. He spent the last five years in a British high-security prison, fighting against extradition efforts. Despite winning favorable court rulings that delayed his transfer to the U.S., the plea deal has now paved the way for his freedom.
Under the terms of the plea deal, Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge under the Espionage Act for conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States. Following his plea and sentencing, he is expected to return to Australia. The proceedings are scheduled to take place in Saipan, the largest island in the Mariana Islands, due to Assange’s opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia.
It is worth noting that Assange’s involvement with WikiLeaks extended beyond his interactions with Manning. The website also released a massive trove of Democratic emails during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which federal prosecutors allege were stolen by Russian intelligence operatives. While Assange was not charged as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, the investigation shed light on WikiLeaks’ role in advancing the campaign against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
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