WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense, ending a protracted legal battle over the leaking of military secrets. Under the plea deal, Assange will be allowed to return to Australia without serving time in U.S. prison.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense, concluding a drawn-out legal saga that raised questions about press freedom, national security, and the limits of journalism.
Julian Assange Accepts Espionage Plea Deal, Avoiding Prison
On Wednesday morning, Assange entered his plea in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific. Under the terms of the deal, Assange will be permitted to return to his native Australia without spending any time in an American prison. He had been jailed in the United Kingdom for the last five years while fighting extradition to the United States.
Assange's plea acknowledged his belief that the Espionage Act under which he was charged contradicted his First Amendment rights but accepted that encouraging sources to provide classified information for publication could be unlawful.
Julian Assange Accepts Espionage Plea Deal, Avoiding Prison
"I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction with each other," Assange reportedly said in court, "but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all these circumstances."
The plea deal resolves a legal battle that has spanned years. Federal prosecutors alleged that Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning, then a U.S. Army intelligence analyst, to steal diplomatic cables and military files published in 2010 by WikiLeaks. Prosecutors accused Assange of damaging national security by publishing documents that harmed the U.S. and its allies and aided its adversaries.
Julian Assange Accepts Espionage Plea Deal, Avoiding Prison
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison but had her sentence commuted by President Barack Obama in the final days of his presidency in 2017.
Assange has been hailed by free press advocates as a transparency crusader but heavily criticized by national security hawks who argue that he put lives at risk and operated far beyond the bounds of journalism.
Julian Assange Accepts Espionage Plea Deal, Avoiding Prison
In 2012, Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he claimed asylum on the grounds of political persecution and remained in self-exile for seven years. The Ecuadorian government allowed the British police to arrest Assange in 2019, and he has been in custody ever since while fighting extradition to the U.S.
The plea deal brings to a close a controversial chapter in the history of press freedom and national security. While some argue that Assange's actions crossed ethical and legal lines, others maintain that he was merely a whistleblower revealing important information to the public.
