Julian Assange pleads guilty to publishing American military secrets — allowing him to head home to Australia
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange walked out of a court a free man Wednesday after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing classified American military secrets – putting an end to his 12-year legal saga.
Assange copped to one felony charge of violating the Espionage Act Wednesday morning local time in the US district court in Saipan as part of his plea deal with Justice Department prosecutors that sentenced him to time served and required he immediately leave the US territory.
He cracked a smile as US District Judge Ramona Manglona pronounced him a “free man,” according to The Associated Press.
Assange was straight-faced and declined to answer reporters’ questions as he exited the courthouse in the Northern Mariana Islands. A number of people applauded as he was whisked away to his car. He flashed a wave before getting inside.
The Wikileaks founder is expected to hop on a private plane and head home to Australia for the first time in more than a decade.
He argued in court that posting the sensitive military intel should be protected by the First Amendment while conceding he would likely not win the case if it went to trial.
“Working as a journalist, I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believe the First Amendment protected that,” he said, according to the Washington Post.
“I accept it’s a violation of an espionage statute,” he also reportedly said. “ … I believe the First Amendment and the Espionage Act are in contradiction of each other, but I accept that it would be difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances.”
Outside of court, his lawyers made the same argument.
“We firmly believe that Mr. Assange should not have been charged under the Espionage Act,” his attorney, Barry Pollack, told reporters.
“Mr. Assange is grateful for all the support he has received and looks forward to reuniting with his wife and his children and getting back home to Australia,” the lawyer added.
The Wikileaks founder requested the hearing in the far-flung US city due to its proximity to Australia, Assange’s attorney reportedly told Chief Judge Ramona Manglona.
Under the terms of the plea, he won’t spend another day behind bars after he received credit for the time he spent in a high-security British prison.
Before his stint in prison, he camped out in the Ecuadorian Embassy for years to avoid extradition to Sweden over rape and sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.
The now-closed case initially started in 2010 when one woman accused him of rape and another accused him of molestation, eventually leading to Swedish police issuing an international arrest warrant.
After a district court in Britain determined Assange should be hauled back to Sweden, he entered the Ecuadorian Embassy in an asylum bid that was granted in 2012. Swedish prosecutors later fully dropped the investigation in 2019.
Assange was released from jail and took a private jet on Monday to Saipan, the capital of the secluded island that has been an American territory since 1986. He shelled out $500,000 to avoid landing anywhere on the US homeland. Instead, he made a brief pit stop in Bangkok so the plane could refuel.
He initially arrived at Saipan International Airport and then traveled in a motorcade that took him to the court.
The deal struck between federal prosecutors and Assange was revealed in court papers Monday night after a lengthy legal standoff.
“Imagine. From over 5 years in a small cell in a maximum security prison,” WikiLeaks wrote in a post. “Nearly 14 years detained in the UK. To this.”
When asked about the future of WikiLeaks, Pollack said the website’s “ work will continue and Mr. Assange, I have no doubt will be a continuing force for freedom of speech and transparency in government.”
Assange’s website revealed war logs and diplomatic cables that delved into US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. He worked with ex-Army intelligence Chelsea Manning to obtain many of the secret records.
While prosecutors argued he threatened national security, defenders of Assange have heralded him for helping shed light on events otherwise kept away from the public.
Assange’s wife, Stella, said the case should have been dropped.
“When we met he was under house arrest. It will be the first time that I get to see him as a fully free man,” she told Reuters.
He was originally indicted on 18 charges by the feds in May 2019.
Manglona noted that his 62 months served in Belmarsh Prison in the UK equal to that of Manning’s time served, The Washington Post reported.
