Julian Assange Works Plea Deal to Come to United States

For what seems like an eternity, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living in exile because of documents he published on WikiLeaks.

Finally, after years of hoping for some relief, his legal team has negotiated a plea deal so he can return to the United States.

He is expected to plead guilty to one count, but he will avoid prison time.

He’s Back

The news comes after a filing was made in the United States District Court of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The filing stated, “The defendant, JULIAN PAUL ASSANGE (‘ASSANGE’), was not a United States citizen, did not possess a U.S. security clearance, and did not have authorization to possess, access, or control documents, writings, or notes relating to the national defense of the United States, including United States government classified information.”

WikiLeaks immediately posted a response on X celebrating Assange’s freedom.

He had been held in Belmarsh, a security prison in the United Kingdom, since April 2019.

In May 2019, the United States charged Assange with 18 counts related to documents obtained when he was allegedly working with Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, to disclose classified documents.

At question is if Assange encouraged Manning to steal the documents, which is illegal, or if Manning stole them and provided them to Assange after the fact.

The charges against Assange make it fairly clear that the government believes Assange aided and abetted Manning in the process.

So, his deal will require him to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information, but as noted, he is expected not to receive any jail time as part of the deal.

I cannot wait to see more details of the deal, as I am curious if Assange will be required to remain silent or if the government will permit him to talk once the deal is in place.

My guess is that he was given no jail time in exchange for keeping his mouth shut about everything.