Wikileaks Documents

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' Julian Assange walks free in Saipan after espionage admission

Julian Assange will be heading home to Australia after being released by a US court in Saipan, where he pleaded guilty to one count of espionage in a deal with the US Justice Department

Why Julian Assange's final court hearing will be on a remote Pacific island

Assange was en route to a courtroom on the island where he is expected to plead guilty in a plea deal that will see him walk free and return home to Australia

Key details about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his legal battles

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reportedly pleaded guilty to espionage after striking a deal with the US Justice Department for his release from prison

Australian leaders cautiously welcome plea that could free Julian Assange

Australian leaders cautiously welcomed an expected plea agreement that could set free Julian Assange, who was pursued for years over WikiLeaks' publication of a trove of classified documents. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday there was nothing to be gained by keeping the Australian incarcerated. A plane thought to be carrying Assange landed Tuesday in Bangkok as he heads to the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Pacific midway between Australia and Japan, where he is expected to appear in a US federal court Wednesday local time. He is expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information, the US Justice Department said in a letter filed in court. Assange is expected to return to Australia if a judge accepts the plea agreement. Public support for Assange has grown in Australia during the seven years he has spent avoiding extradition to the United States by hiding i

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stops in Bangkok on his way to a US court

A plane believed to be carrying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has landed in Bangkok on Tuesday, as he is on the way to enter a plea deal with the US government that will free him and resolve the legal case that spanned years and continents over the publication of a trove of classified documents. The chartered plane VJT199 landed after noon at Don Mueang International Airport, north of the Thai capital. It is unclear if the plane is only refuelling or how Assange will continue travelling to the Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific, where he will appear in court Wednesday morning Saipan time. He's expected to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information, according to the US Justice Department in a letter filed in court. Assange is expected to return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing. The hearing is taking place in Saipan, the largest islan

All you need to know about WikiLeaks and why it got Assange in trouble

In February this year, Assange's legal team sought permission for a final appeal, arguing the case was politically motivated

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to plead guilty to be out of prison

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will free him from prison and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to court papers filed late Monday. Assange is scheduled to appear in the federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific, to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information, the Justice Department said in a letter filed in court. The guilty plea, which must be approved by a judge, brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of international intrigue and to the U.S. government's years-long pursuit of a publisher whose hugely popular secret-sharing website made him a cause clbre among many press freedom advocates who said he acted as a journalist to expose U.S. military wrongdoing.

London court to rule on Assange's appeal against extradition to US

A London court is scheduled Tuesday to rule whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gets one final appeal in England to challenge extradition to the United States on espionage charges. Two judges are due to issue a judgment in the High Court that could put an end to Assange's long legal saga or further extend it. If he fails in winning the right to appeal, his legal team fears he could be swiftly sent to the US to face charges, though they're likely to ask the European Court of Human Rights to block any transfer. Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website's publication of a trove of classified US documents almost 15 years ago. American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published. During a two-day hearing last month, Assange's lawyers argued that he was a secrecy-busting journalist who exposed US .

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 ...

Australian lawmakers pass motion calling for release of WikiLeaks founder

Australia's House of Representatives has ramped up pressure on the United States and Britain to end the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by passing a motion calling for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. Independent lawmaker Andrew Wilkie moved the motion on Wednesday one week ahead of Britain's High Court of Justice hearing Assange's appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the 86 lawmakers who voted for the motion that called on the United States and Britain to bring the "matter to a close so that Mr. Assange can return home to his family in Australia. The motion was opposed by 42 lawmakers including most of the main opposition party that unsuccessfully proposed amendments. Leaders of both the government and the opposition have publicly stated that the United States' pursuit of the 52-year-old had dragged on for too long. Assange has been in London's

Assange risked intelligence sources by publishing classified docs: US

Assange spent much of the past decade holed up in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid separate legal proceedings in Sweden, but Washington is now seeking his transfer from Britain to stand trial

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in UK court fighting extradition to US

Assange refrained from making political statements

Wikileaks documents: Hacking dump sends tech firms scrambling for fixes

Huawei declined to comment. ZTE and Zyxel were not immediately available to respond