Reactions to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s plea deal to effectively end his long incarceration in London are proving as polarizing as the man himself, with supporters hailing the end of a U.S. prosecution that they denounced as misguided and unfair, while others warned the Biden administration had committed a”miscarriage of justice” in failing to pursue the case against a fugitive leaker of vital security secrets.
In a case that has become a diplomatic nightmare and a touchstone in the debate over journalistic methods and ethics, Mr. Assange agreed to plead guilty in the U.S. territory of Saipan to one charge under the Espionage Act for conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information.
The plea was formally entered Wednesday morning local time on the Pacific island.
Having already effectively spent more than a decade of his life in confinement, Mr. Assange would face no more jail time under the deal.
His guilty plea caps a legal saga that spanned over a decade and saw the WikiLeaks founder go from seeking sanctuary inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to serving five years in a British prison to avoid extradition to the U.S. After his plea, Mr. Assange is expected to return to his native Australia.
Mr. Biden was also under pressure from Australia, a critical ally, to wrap up the Assange prosecution one way or another.
“Regardless of the views that people have about Mr. Assange [and] his activities, the case has dragged on for too long,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra. “There is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.”
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who served in the role in 2010 when WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq said the plea deal “came out pretty well.” Critics said the leaks Mr. Assange helped to disseminate not only gave away vital security secrets but potentially exposed U.S. and foreign intelligence assets and endangered their lives.
“I think critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage. I think the law enforcement community and the intelligence community wouldn’t have bought into this without that,” Mr. Clapper told CNN’s Laura Coates.
“But he has served essentially seven years of incarceration in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London,” he said. “He was released from that and then the Brits arrested him. He did 62 months in jail. Hard time in London. So, he has sort of, you know, paid his dues.”
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said he was relieved that Mr. Assange would “finally” be free, but warned of the ripple effect his plea deal could have.
“This plea deal sets a dangerous precedent, criminalizing journalism and damaging our First Amendment rights,” Mr. Paul said on X. “The ‘Land of the Free’ can and must do better.”
Others viewed his freedom in a much different light. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, called Mr. Assange a “traitor” on X. Former Vice President Mike Pence accused him of endangering U.S. soldiers during a time of war.
“The Biden administration’s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families,” Mr. Pence wrote on X. “There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.”
The Trump administration accused Mr. Assange of helping former Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning to steal thousands of documents that were later leaked by WikiLeaks. Ms. Manning was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison for her role, but her sentence was ultimately commuted in 2017 by then-President Obama after serving seven years behind bars.
Prosecutors at the time said that the reports published by Mr. Assange included the names of Afghans and Iraqis who gave information to American and coalition forces, and the diplomatic cables he released exposed journalists, religious leaders, human rights advocates and dissidents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Assange was not charged, however, for WikiLeaks’ role in the 2016 election, where he leaked thousands of emails from Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee that federal prosecutors say were initially stolen by Russian hackers.
Those emails, and how they were obtained, were used as the basis for Democrats’ claims that then-Republican candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russia to secure victory in 2016, and led to accusations that Mr. Assange released the emails to damage Mrs. Clinton’s chances at victory.
Rep. Thomas Massie, like Mr. Paul a Kentucky Republican and a skeptic of government power, invited Mr. Assange’s brother to President Biden’s State of the Union address earlier this year he lauded his freedom as a victory, but noted that “it’s a travesty that he’s already spent so much time in jail.”
“Obama, Trump, & Biden should have never pursued this prosecution,” Mr. Massie said on X.
And some journalist advocacy groups said the ambiguous end of the Assange case — and his decision to plead guilty — left unsettled the impact his case will have on investigative journalism and the right to publish sensitive information provided by a source.
“Julian Assange faced a prosecution that had grave implications for journalists and press freedom worldwide,” Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement Tuesday. “While we welcome the end of his detention, the U.S.’s pursuit of Assange has set a harmful legal precedent by opening the way for journalists to be tried under the Espionage Act if they receive classified material from whistleblowers. This should never have been the case.”
• This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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