Julian Assange, Justice Department Exploring Guilty Plea to End 14-Year Legal Drama.
IN SHORT
US Considers Plea Deal Offer for Julian Assange
- The US government is considering a plea deal offer to Julian Assange, allowing him to admit to a misdemeanor.
- Washington’s approach in the espionage case, according to Assange’s lawyers, has not changed.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the US justice department is considering ways to shorten the long London court battle of the WikiLeaks founder against extradition to the US on espionage charges.
- The plan would be to drop the current 18 charges under the Espionage Act if Assange pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents, a misdemeanor offense. After agreeing to the deal, Assange would be able to enter the plea remotely from London and likely be free soon.
- Assange’s defense attorney, Barry Pollack, have stated they are not aware of any change in the prosecution strategy.
- The high court is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to grant Assange a further right to appeal his extradition.
• Barry Pollack, Julian Assange’s lawyer, argues the UK High Court hasn’t shown a settlement plan.
• The US is seeking extradition on 18 charges, potentially leading to 175-year jail time.
• Assange is attempting to stay in Britain instead of being extradited to the US.
• The US claims Assange is punished for disclosing wrongdoing, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
• Human rights groups, media, and leaders from Mexico, Brazil, and Australia have requested the charges be dropped.
Julian Assange
The US government is contemplating offering Julian Assange a plea deal that would allow him to confess to a misdemeanor, but his lawyers assert that Washington has not communicated any intention to alter its strategy.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US justice department was looking at ways to cut short the long London court battle of the WikiLeaks founder against extradition to the US on espionage charges for the publication of thousands of classified US documents related to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
A plan under consideration would be to drop the current 18 charges under the Espionage Act, if Assange pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents, a misdemeanor offence. After agreeing to the deal, Assange, who has already spent five years in custody in the UK, would be able to enter the plea remotely from London and likely be free soon. However, Assange’s legal team said they were not aware of any change in the prosecution strategy.
The high court is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to grant Assange a further right to appeal his extradition. If the two judges rule against him, he will have exhausted all UK options to challenge the extradition, and the sole remaining avenue open to him would be the European court of human rights, which could order the UK not to go ahead with the extradition until the court has heard the case. Should that fail, the US could transport Assange to the US in a matter of days.
Assange’s extradition would be politically difficult for the Biden administration, particularly in an election year. The previous Democratic administration decided not to charge Assange because of fears that doing so would infringe on First Amendment rights guaranteeing freedom of the press.
Barry Pollack, Julian Assange’s lawyer, said that the UK High Court has not shown that the Department of Justice plans to settle the case. The US is still asking for his extradition on all 18 charges, which could land him in jail for 175 years. Assange is trying to stay in Britain instead of being sent to the US, where he is wanted for releasing secret
US military records and diplomatic cables in 2010. The US says that releasing these papers put lives at risk. Defenders of Assange assert that the US is punishing him for disclosing wrongdoing, particularly in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Human rights groups, the media, and leaders from Mexico, Brazil, and Australia have requested the dropping of the charges against Assange.