WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department, bringing an end to a lengthy legal battle that spanned multiple continents. The plea deal will see Assange admit to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information.
Assange is expected to appear in federal court in the Mariana Islands to enter his guilty plea, which must be approved by a judge. The deal will allow Assange to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing, which is scheduled for Wednesday morning local time in Saipan.
The agreement ensures that Assange will not face additional prison time, as prosecutors have agreed to a sentence of the five years he has already spent in a high-security British prison. Assange had been fighting extradition to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of classified documents on WikiLeaks.
The case against Assange has been met with mixed reactions, with some viewing him as a hero who exposed military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, while others have criticized him for his involvement in publishing classified government documents. The U.S. government has accused Assange of damaging national security by aiding adversaries through the publication of sensitive information.
Despite ongoing support from some activists and supporters, Assange's legal battle has been a complex and contentious issue. The Justice Department's indictment in 2019 accused Assange of encouraging Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military files, which were later published by WikiLeaks.
As the legal saga comes to a close with Assange's expected guilty plea, the case has raised questions about the balance between press freedom and national security, with both supporters and critics closely watching the outcome of the deal with the U.S. Justice Department.