Julian Assange leaves jail on his way to enter plea deal with the U.S.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty in a deal with the United States, allowing him to go free years after publishing classified information obtained by Chelsea Manning.
WASHINGTON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and on his way to a remote Pacific island on Tuesday where he will plead guilty to a conspiracy charge as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department, according to court documents.
The agreement will free Assange and end the yearslong legal battle over the publication of a trove of classified documents.
Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents said.
Wikileaks posted footage to X of Assange boarding a plane at Stanstead Airport near London at 5 p.m. (12 p.m. ET) on Monday.
A letter from Justice Department official Matthew McKenzie said Assange would appear in court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S.-controlled territory north of Guam, at 9 a.m. local time Wednesday (7 p.m. ET Tuesday) to plead guilty.
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