Could the United States offer a deal to Julian Assange in order to end his legal nightmare? The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. has offered Assange this deal but Assange’s lawyers say that this is news to them.
The WSJ reports that the Justice Department could offer Assange a plea deal that would end their pursuit of him. If he pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents, which is a misdemeanor, they would count his five years in prison against this crime and end their pursuit, according to this report.
Only Assange’s lawyers say that they “have been given no indication that the Department of Justice intends to resolve the case and the United States is continuing with as much determination as ever to seek his extradition on all 18 charges, exposing him to 175 years in prison.”
So why would someone inside the government feed this to the press? Are they trying to help the Biden administration off the hook for this?
And while a plea deal may be good for Assange, would it have implications for freedom of the press? Would it mean that Assange’s alleged crime could be used against other journalists who seek the truth too?
