Report: US Considering Plea Deal Offer For Julian Assange

Facts

• The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly considering a plea deal with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to admit to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified documents rather than the 18 counts of espionage he currently faces, which carry up to 175 years in prison.¹
• WikiLeaks published thousands of classified US military information and diplomatic cables around 2010 that allegedly exposed American war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange's lawyers argue he was given information and published it as a journalist.²
• According to sources for the Wall Street Journal, the US and Assange's lawyers have discussed a plea deal for months. If such an agreement were reached, Assange would reportedly be able to sign it from the UK and be released soon after.²
• Assange's attorney, however, said the US is still seeking extradition and the DOJ has 'given no indication' that it wants to 'resolve the case.' He also stated that it would be 'inappropriate' to comment 'while his case is before the UK High Court.'³
• The WikiLeaks founder first sought refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012, after which he was arrested by UK authorities in 2019 after losing his Ecuadorian asylum status. He has been in a UK prison ever since.⁴
• In his final plea to avoid extradition last month, Assange cited bad health and fears of suicide in American prison. British judges will rule whether Assange can appeal or be extradited within 28 days. If extradited, the US has promised Australia that Assange could serve his term there.⁵

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²wsj.com, ³Reuters.com, ⁴New York Post and ⁵Intelligencer.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. Assange did not innocently receive information and then publish it — he encouraged a US intelligence officer to steal classified material for him to broadcast to the world. Not only that, but the material he released included the names of people in war zones, effectively putting their lives in danger. As would be the case for any other alleged spy, the government, through the collection of evidence, has found that Assange blatantly put American security at risk.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Nation. Whether Assange is extradited and prosecuted or given a plea deal, the fact of the matter is that the US government has not only tried to arrest him but also kill him throughout this entire process. It's now known that the CIA in 2017 drew up a plan to murder Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy. When that failed, they went to plan b, which was to let his health deteriorate in a UK prison. Without ever using American handcuffs, the US government has destroyed the physical and mental health of a heroic journalist.

Predictions