Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, pled guilty in a US court in Saipan on Wednesday, according to APF. There have been ongoing discussions between Assanges legal team and the US Department of Justice about a potential plea deal that will leave him free after years of legalities, allowing him to walk straight to his home in Australia.Julian Assange walks free.Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters pic.twitter.com/7S9Vlj9lws— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 26, 2024After more than five years in a high-security British jail and seven years in sanctuary at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, Assange fought his extradition to the United States, where he was facing 18 criminal accusations, until his release, which brought an end to a 14-year legal drama.Assange pleaded guilty to one criminal count of conspiring to obtain and distribute confidential national defence documents during the three-hour hearing. However, he stated that he had thought his actions were protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees free expression.Because he had already served time in a British jail, Chief US District Judge Ramona V Manglona accepted his guilty plea and granted him release.Allegations against Julian AssangeUnited StatesEspionage Act: Julian Assange was facing 18 charges under the US Espionage Act, related to the publication of classified documents and military files provided by former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. These charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.Conspiracy to Commit Computer Intrusion: Assange is also charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, alleging that he assisted Manning in cracking a password to a classified US government computer network.United KingdomAssange was initially arrested in the UK in 2010 under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Sweden. He was later granted asylum by Ecuador and stayed in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London from 2012 until 2019.In 2019, after being expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy, he was arrested by UK authorities for skipping bail about the Swedish investigation.SwedenAssange faced allegations of sexual misconduct, including rape and molestation, made by two women in Sweden in 2010. The investigation was closed and reopened multiple times over the years, and the Swedish prosecutors eventually dropped the investigation in November 2019, citing the inability to further advance the case.These charges and legal issues have led to a prolonged and complex legal battle involving multiple countries and numerous legal proceedings.However, Assanges lawyer has stated that there has been no indication from the Justice Department that they are willing to resolve the case through such a plea deal.
