Julian Assange Diplomatic Status

How Julian Assange, US prosecutors arrived at plea deal to end his case

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in Australia as a free man, having resolved through a plea deal a U.S. Justice Department case charging him with obtaining and publishing government secrets on his secret-spilling website. It was a stunning resolution to a polarizing drama that landed at the intersection of press freedom and national security, spanned three presidential administrations and played out across multiple continents. Here are some things to know: The negotiations The plea deal was the culmination of a lengthy negotiation process that accelerated in recent months and featured numerous proposals and counterproposals. About a year and a half ago, a lawyer for Assange made a presentation to federal prosecutors in Virginia that included a bold request: that they drop the case. That was untenable to the Justice Department, but months later prosecutors asked whether Assange would be open to resolving the case through a guilty plea. The Assange team was open to explorin

WikiLeaks founder Assange starts final UK legal battle to stay out of US

Julian Assange's lawyers will begin their final UK legal challenge on Tuesday to stop the WikiLeaks founder from being sent to the United States to face spying charges. The 52-year-old has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in a high-security prison. Assange's attorneys will ask two High Court judges to grant a new appeal hearing, his last legal roll of the dice in Britain. If the judges rule against Assange, he can ask the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition though supporters worry he could be put on a plane to the US before that happens. Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson could deliver a verdict at the end of the two-day hearing on Wednesday, but they're more likely to take several weeks to consider their decision. This hearing marks the beginning of the end of the extradition case, as any grounds rejected by these judges cannot be further ...

WikiLeaks founder Assange may be near end of his fight to stay out of US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's fight to avoid facing spying charges in the United States may be nearing an end following a protracted legal saga in the U.K. that included seven years of self-exile inside a foreign embassy and five years in prison. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in London next week as he tries to stop his extradition to the U.S. The High Court has scheduled two days of arguments over whether Assange can ask an appeals court to block his transfer. If the court doesn't allow the appeal to go forward, he could be sent across the Atlantic. His wife says the decision is a matter of life and death for Assange, whose health has deteriorated during his time in custody. His life is at risk every single day he stays in prison, Stella Assange said Thursday. If he's extradited, he will die. WHAT IS ASSANGE CHARGED WITH? Assange, 52, an Australian computer expert, has been indicted in the U.S. on 18 charges over Wikileaks' publication of hundreds of ...

Unlikely to be free anytime soon, Assange's fight for freedom far from over

This "is not the end of the story," said Jasvinder Nakhwal, an extradition lawyer at Peters & Peters in London who wasn't involved in Assange's hearing

Giuliani's scandal: Is the Trump campaign colluding with Russia again?

According to The Washington Post, US intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that Giuliani, then searching in Ukraine for dirt about Biden was the target of a Russian operation

UK judge upholds Assange's arrest warrant, rejects his bid to leave embassy

The 46-year-old Australian has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012 fearing arrest if he leaves the building

Britain refuses Ecuador's request to grant diplomatic status to Assange

Assange was granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012 and has remained sheltered in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid arrest ever since