The US Department of Justice is considering offering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a plea deal to finally end his more than decade-long exile from his country, according to a new report.
wall street journal On Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter reported that federal prosecutors may approve a reduced charge against Assange for mishandling classified information.
Brokering the deal would ideally end a long legal battle with the British government to prevent the Australian from being extradited to the United States on 17 charges of espionage and one charge of computer fraud. His lawyers argued this could result in 175 prison sentences.
Assange, 52, has spent the past five years in British custody and the seven years before that barricaded himself in a foreign embassy.
The reduced charges would be classified as misdemeanors, meaning Assange could plead the charges remotely without ever setting foot in the United States.
The time he spent in a London prison could be counted if the United States imposes a prison sentence on him, opening the possibility that Assange could be released after an agreement is reached.
Justice Department officials and Mr. Assange’s lawyers have discussed the possibility of ending the drama with a plea deal in recent months, but no decision has been reached, the newspaper reported.
Assange’s lawyer Barry Pollack said it was not even clear whether the Justice Department would accept the deal. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.
Mr. Assange was indicted in the United States in 2010 over the release of hundreds of thousands of classified documents by WikiLeaks, with prosecutors alleging that Mr. Assange had hacked into Pentagon computers, including secret diplomatic cables and military files related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He claimed that they conspired to publish the
Mr. Assange argued that he was working as a journalist to expose wrongdoing by the U.S. military and should be protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of the press.
He initially sought refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, but was arrested by British police in 2019 after the Ecuadorian government revoked his asylum status.
Mr. Assange has repeatedly fought to remain in British prisons over the past five years, recently filing a final appeal against the possibility of prosecution in the United States for his political views.
The High Court is expected to rule on his appeal in the coming weeks.
