Global Decade-Long Chase for Julian Assange Concludes with Plea Bargain Sparking Both Acclaim and Controversy
The chase ended abruptly on a Wednesday, with Julian Assange confessing to a single federal crime in an American court. This confession stemmed from his alleged involvement in masterminding one of the most significant data breaches of classified American military and diplomatic documents. The deal grants Assange the opportunity to escape imprisonment in the US and return to his homeland, Australia.
Negotiations between Assange's legal team and American prosecutors were a rollercoaster ride, transpiring over three US presidencies during the protracted effort to prevent his extradition.
Australian officials took every opportunity to bring up Assange's predicament during the past three years of the Biden administration, a stark contrast to their actions during the Trump years, when they avoided the matter due to concerns it could jeopardize bilateral relations, according to several informed sources.
"The subject was never mentioned during our discussions," said David Stilwell, the State Department assistant secretary for the Pacific region during the Trump administration. "Not a word."
However, in recent months, the talks intensified, partly due to the efforts of a left-leaning Australian government that came into power two years ago, providing Assange a powerful ally during his lengthy legal struggle from a London prison. Favorable rulings in UK courts for Assange also boosted his case.
During a meeting in the Oval Office as part of an official state visit at the end of October, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese broached the topic of Assange with President Joe Biden, suggesting that enough time had passed and the issue required resolution. Biden and his team responded favorably but assured they would not interfere with the Justice Department.
As early as April, Assange's attorneys and DOJ prosecutors were in discussions about a possible deal. Assange stipulated that he would agree to plead guilty only to misdemeanor charges related to the circulation of classified US documents, individuals briefed on the talks informed CNN.
In the same month, Australian officials also wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, sketching the framework of a potential deal, including Assange pleading guilty and being granted the opportunity to return to Australia, with the possibility of a felony plea left open.
In response to the Australian parliament's request made in February for the Justice Department to drop the 18 felony charges brought against him in 2019, Biden stated that he was considering the request.
Within the Biden administration, there was resistance from the FBI and certain DOJ officials to any deal that didn't involve felony charges, and some pushed for Assange to be brought to federal court in northern Virginia and serve some prison time in the US.
Assange spent the past five years in London's high-security Belmarsh prison, battling against extradition. He was released from the facility on Monday to travel to the Northern Mariana Islands for his plea hearing and sentencing before a federal judge there. US prosecutors had requested that the proceedings take place on the same day, as Assange was reluctant to step foot in the continental US for his guilty plea.
The High Court's decision in May that Assange could continue appealing his extradition seemed to shift the course of the negotiations, leading US prosecutors and Assange's lawyers to rekindle their discussions about a plea deal. For US prosecutors, the fact that Assange had already served five years at Belmarsh fighting extradition, and the likelihood that a guilty plea for similar crimes would result in a comparable sentence within the US, enhanced efforts to reach an agreement.
On Tuesday, the White House stated they had no involvement in the decision. However, Biden's comments in April suggest they were not offering any resistance.
Assange and Wikileaks gained international recognition after the site released vast collections of classified information from the Pentagon and State Department, which were provided to Assange by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
Assange is accused of goading Manning into obtaining thousands of unfiltered US diplomatic cables, along with Iraq war-related significant activity reports and information about Guantanamo Bay detainees, potentially compromising confidential sources.
Manning was incarcerated for approximately seven years for her role in the massive leak. Before leaving office, then-President Barack Obama commuted her sentence.
The focus on leaks of national security information being handled by Assange is believed to be a significant factor in the intensity of the case, as stated by Hickey to CNN. Hickey was not part of the DOJ's National Security Division team working on the Assange case from 2016 to 2023.
The Assange case, however, presented difficulties for prosecutors due to his unique background – unlike other individuals charged under the Espionage Act or related national security laws, Assange isn't a traditional journalist, spy, or foreign intelligence officer.
Hickey, now a partner at Mayer Brown, suggested that handling such a case in court could be unpredictable and intriguing, given Assange's unique status.
Many organizations advocating for press freedom, including some significant news outlets, opposed the Assessment indictment, concerned that it could endanger journalists, even if Assange didn't adhere to the rules and ethics of traditional newsrooms.
Groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International, and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others, have voiced concerns and urged the Justice Department to abandon the case entirely, arguing that prosecuting Assange under the Espionage Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act could set dangerous precedents for journalists.
Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy director and a CNN commentator, found the indictment against Assange to be valid but had reservations about the potential trial's potential divisiveness and impact on journalistic activities.
Stilwell, a former State Department official under the Trump administration, criticized the Assange plea deal, stating that Assange knowingly violated protocol by bypassing regular channels, causing the loss of numerous sources and methods, and that setting a precedent by releasing him would be incorrect and harmful.
On the other hand, Bradley Moss, a seasoned national security attorney in Washington, DC, praised the plea deal for avoiding the significant constitutional implications that would've arisen during Assange's trial, such as determining the extent to which the First Amendment protects journalists from criminal prosecution under the Espionage Act. Additionally, Moss noted that after Assange spent over a dozen years in de facto detention, there was no longer any significant information to be gathered from him by federal prosecutors.
CNN's Zachary Cohen, Marshall Cohen, and Kevin Liptak contributed to the report.
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The confession by Julian Assange led to negotiations between his legal team and American prosecutors, which were complex and prolonged over multiple US presidencies. The potential deal under consideration allowed Assange to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges and return to Australia, avoiding imprisonment in the US.
Favorable rulings in UK courts and the efforts of a left-leaning Australian government served as key factors in intensifying these negotiations, providing Assange with a stronger position in his lengthy legal struggle from a London prison.
