Julian Assange to Plead Guilty: End of a Legal Saga

Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. This plea will conclude a complex legal battle over the publication of classified documents. Assange's hearing is scheduled in the Mariana Islands court due to proximity issues.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is set to plead guilty to a felony charge in a groundbreaking deal with the U.S. Justice Department, court papers revealed late Monday. This move aims to end a legal conflict that has stretched across multiple continents and focused on the publication of classified information.

Assange will appear in federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge. The charge involves conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information, according to a letter filed by the Justice Department.

This guilty plea, pending judicial approval, concludes an internationally provocative case. While some press freedom advocates argue Assange was acting as a journalist, investigators maintain his actions violated laws designed to safeguard sensitive information and compromised national security. Assange is expected to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday in Saipan due to its geographic proximity to Australia.

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