A car with a message in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange drives in front of the High Court, on the day of an extradition hearing of Julian Assange, in London, Britain, May 20, 2024.
BECAUSE WikiLeaks founder Julian Paul Assange did not want to travel to the continental U.S. to plead guilty to an espionage charge, the U.S. Department of Justice has requested the District Court for the NMI to schedule a hearing for him.
Assange, 52, has been accused of violating the U.S. Espionage Act by obtaining and disseminating “top secret” national defense information to the public
After securing a plea deal agreement with Assange, the USDOJ made a Rule 11 hearing request. The plea agreement will be unsealed following his guilty plea.
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona scheduled an initial appearance, arraignment and plea hearing for June 26, today, Wednesday, at 9 a.m.
Assange originally faced a total of 18 criminal counts — 17 espionage charges and one charge for conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
Today he will plead guilty to the charge of “conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified information relating to the national defense of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 793(g),” according to a USDOJ letter dated June 25.
“We appreciate the court accommodating these plea and sentencing proceedings on a single day at the joint request of the parties, in light of the defendant’s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea and the proximity of this federal U.S. District Court to the defendant’s country of citizenship, Australia, to which we expect he will return at the conclusion of the proceedings,” the USDOJ stated.
The letter was signed by Matthew J. McRenzie, deputy chief of the counterintelligence and export control section, USDOJ-National Security Division; and Shawn N. Anderson, U.S. attorney for the Districts of Guam and the NMI.
Assange is expected to return to Australia immediately following the sentencing on Wednesday.
In a statement on social media platform X, WikiLeaks stated:
“Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of [June 24], after having spent 1,901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.
“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organizers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalized.
“We will provide more information as soon as possible. After more than five years in a 2×3 meter cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars.
“WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people’s right to know. As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom. Julian’s freedom is our freedom.”
According to the criminal information filed in court, 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.”
His co-defendant, Chelsea Manning, was a United States Army intelligence analyst who held a “Top Secret” U.S. security clearance and was deployed to forward Operating Base Hammer in Iraq.
From 2009 to 2011, Assange conspired with Manning to receive and obtain classified national defense information and disseminate it publicly, the U.S. government stated.
Federal prosecutors said the leaks harmed U.S. national security and endangered the lives of American agents.
After five years fighting U.S. extradition from a top-security UK jail, Julian Assange is boarding a plane that WikiLeaks says is flying out of the United Kingdom in footage it released Tuesday. He’s expected to appear in court on the island of Saipan Wednesday and plead guilty to violating U.S. espionage law, in exchange for his freedom.
