Julian Assange to plead guilty to espionage charges, expected to be freed

NEWS WIRES

24 June 2024 at 7:47 pm·1-min read

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is expected to plead guilty this week to violating US espionage law, in a deal that could end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia, US prosecutors said.

Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

Assange is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing on the island of Saipan at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (1900 EDT/2300 GMT on Tuesday). He is expected to return home after that hearing.

A lawyer for Assange did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WikiLeaks in 2010 released hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. military documents on Washington's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq – the largest security breaches of their kind in U.S. military history – along with swaths of diplomatic cables.

Assange was indicted during former President Donald Trump's administration over WikiLeaks' mass release of secret U.S. documents, which were leaked by Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. military intelligence analyst who was also prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

The Telegraph
Woman arrested after prison officer filmed allegedly having sex with inmate
A woman has been arrested after footage was widely circulated that appeared to show a prison officer having sex with an inmate.
INSIDER
Israel has never been impressed with its version of the $1 billion Patriot air defense system. Now it could offload up to 8 to Ukraine.
Ukraine has long coveted more of the $1 billion US-manufactured Patriot air defense systems.
Associated Press
An Indian military tank sinks while crossing a river in a region bordering China, killing 5 soldiers
Five Indian soldiers were killed when a military tank they were travelling in sank while crossing a river in the remote region of Ladakh that borders China, officials said Saturday. The tank sank early Saturday due to sudden increase in the water levels of Shyok River during a military training activity, according to an Indian army command center statement. It said the accident took place in Saser Brangsa near the Line of Actual Control that divides India and China in the Ladakh region.
The Telegraph
‘Trillion dollar trainwreck’: US super stealth fighter is eating the next generation
All of a sudden, the US Air Force is considering cancelling a multibillion-dollar effort to develop a new stealth fighter. Citing the high cost of the so-called “Next-Generation Air Dominance” programme and the competing demands of other projects, USAF leaders have warned they may have no choice but to cancel NGAD – and find other ways of winning control of the air in future wars.
The Independent
A pair of siblings were stabbed and the sister’s dying words were that the killer was a man from Detroit. Thirty-four years later, he’s been arrested.
Pamela Sumpter, was raped and stabbed, and her brother John Sumpter was stabbed to death, at their Georgia home on July 15, 1990
CNN
A year ago, she drank battery acid to escape life under the Taliban. Today, she has a message for other Afghan girls
Arzo survived a suicide attempt but now faces a new threat that could send her family – and millions like them – back to Afghanistan and a life that has become so intolerable for women and girls that some would rather die.
INSIDER
Biden meets family at Camp David as calls to exit the race grow
The meeting was pre-planned but is a timely opportunity for Biden to discuss the future of his campaign with the most influential people in his life.
The Daily Beast
Obama Rode to Biden’s Rescue—but Intervention Could Yet Come
On Friday afternoon, in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump, private murmurs and public calls for an “intervention” ricocheted through Democratic circles. But then a hold-up emerged.Some 17 hours after Biden botched his big debate moment, his former boss came to the rescue.For many high-ranking Democrats, a single tweet from former President Barack Obama appeared to nix any chance of the 44th president meeting with the 46th and urging him to drop out.Rea
CNN
The reason why NATO and Europe found Biden’s debate performance so alarming
Joe Biden’s performance at the CNN presidential debate against Donald Trump has raised concerns with US allies - particularly within NATO and Europe.
CNN Business
One of the world’s richest men wants to transform India’s biggest slum
When Masoom Ali Shaikh arrived in Mumbai in 1974 as a young man from northern India, the patch of land where he set up shop was “just a creek with no proper road and garbage all around,” he said.
CNN
Russia wants to confront NATO but dares not fight it on the battlefield – so it’s waging a hybrid war instead
When someone tried – and failed – to burn down a bus garage in Prague earlier this month, the unsuccessful arson attack didn’t draw much attention. Until, that is, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed it was “very likely” that Moscow was behind it.
LA Times
She died a convicted killer. On Friday, her kids saw a judge declare her innocent
Connie Dahl's sons were 3 and 8 when there mother was taken away in handcuffs, accused of a brutal murder. On Friday, a California judge declared her innocent — 39 years after the killing.
INSIDER
A grinding Russian assault appears telling about Putin's plan to defeat Ukraine
ISW's conflict experts warned that the West must "challenge Putin's belief that he can gradually subsume Ukraine."
INSIDER
Huge US military 'Manta Ray' sea drone spotted on Google Earth at California naval base
Sea drones have redefined naval warfare in recent years. Their use in the Russia-Ukraine war has gained them widespread media attention.
KameraOne
Cow charges into home and crashes family's dinner
This is the moment a cow escaped from a neighbor and charged into a family's home in Gia Lai, Vietnam on June 17. The angry bovine hit several people during its rampage but was chased out of the house. Luckily, no one suffered any major injuries.
Futurism
There's an Extremely Stupid Reason NASA Scientists Can't Study China's Amazing New Moon Rocks
Earlier this week, China's Chang'e 6 lunar probe landed in Inner Mongolia, delivering the first samples collected from the far side of the Moon. The mission has the international scientific community excited — the far side of the Moon, which permanently faces away from the Earth, remains a bit of a mystery. Only China has […]
INSIDER
It took a woman 3 years and cost her $200K to kick a tenant out of her LA home. She says she cried when she saw the bloody mess he left.
Alison Weinsweig told BI about her three-year ordeal with a tenant, which ended in over $200,000 in losses, a legal battle, and blood-stained floors.
INSIDER
France's army chief says small drones will lose their battlefield advantage. But Ukraine likely won't be changing tack anytime soon.
French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill said small drones could soon lose their battlefield advantage as defenses were catching up.
The Independent
‘Hello from my Black job’: Black Democrats share workplace photos after Trump’s bizarre debate line
People across social media shared photos of their ‘Black jobs’ while wondering what exactly the former president meant by that
Evening Standard
US police shoot dead 13-year-old boy carrying a replica gun after New York state robbery
The boy and his friend had been stopped after a reported armed robbery

Latest stories