{"id":2283093,"date":"2024-06-25T10:02:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T14:02:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-years-long-standoff-with-u-s-government-ends-in-dramatic-fashion\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T10:05:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T14:05:50","slug":"wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-years-long-standoff-with-u-s-government-ends-in-dramatic-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-years-long-standoff-with-u-s-government-ends-in-dramatic-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange&#8217;s Years-Long Standoff with U.S. Government Ends in Dramatic Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwikileaks-founder-julian-assanges-years-long-standoff-with-u-s-government-ends-in-dramatic-fashion%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283093&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Julian Assange,\u200c the founder of WikiLeaks, is on the verge \u2063of gaining his freedom\u200c after over a decade of trying to evade U.S. legal action for leaking sensitive\u200d documents. Assange, who spent \u200bthe last five years in a British prison, was \u2063in the midst \u2064of \u200bbeing transported\u2062 from there \u2064to the Mariana Islands in the \u2062Pacific. There, he is expected to plead\u2062 guilty\u200d to a conspiracy charge before a U.S. District Court judge. According \u2064to \u2064arrangements, \u2064he will be sentenced to the time\u2064 already served in Britain and then released. This move comes following a plea agreement, which \u200bhas been described as highly unusual and orchestrated,\u2063 allowing Assange to avoid\u200c further jail time in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to hold the proceedings in the Mariana Islands \u200bstems from Assange\u2019s opposition to traveling to\u200d the continental U.S. This location was \u200balso chosen due to its \u2062closeness to Australia, Assange\u2019s home \u2064country, where he is\u200d expected to return after the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>Assange\u2019s case has \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shark-tanks-kevin-oleary-says-20-of-his-portfolio-is-in-crypto\/\" title=\"Shark Tank\u2019s Kevin O\u2019Leary Says 20% of His Portfolio Is in Crypto\">attracted considerable attention<\/a> \u200dand controversy. He and then-Army Private Bradley Manning (now Chelsea Manning), were charged under \u2064the\u2063 Espionage Act for their roles in disseminating classified documents related to U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/we-got-it-newsmax-reporter-emerald-robinson-national-security-source-confirms-a-piece-of-hardware-has-been-secured-in-germany\/\" title=\"We Got It! - Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson: National Security Source Confirms \"A Piece of Hardware Has Been Secured\" in Germany\">national security<\/a>. \u2062This\u200c included information on the Afghan and Iraq \u200bwars, diplomatic cables, and assessments\u200c related to Guantanamo Bay detainees, as well \u200das materials from the Democratic National Committee in\u2064 2016.<\/p>\n<p>The recent development\u2062 has elicited mixed\u2062 reactions. Some activists and organizations, like the Electronic Frontier \u200bFoundation, argue that this\u2064 sets a dangerous precedent for what they view as &#8220;basic journalistic \u2063acts&#8221; under the Espionage Act. Conversely, figures \u200clike former Vice President \u200dMike Pence have criticized the plea deal, asserting that Assange endangered U.S. military lives and that the administration\u2019s decision is a &#8220;miscarriage \u2063of justice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As Assange\u2019s procedural\u200c finish nears, opinions remain sharply divided on the implications for\u200d justice, national security, and freedom of the press.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/news\/\">  News <\/a>   <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/%20\"><span>Jack Davis<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   June 25, 2024 at 6:31am <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>After more than a decade of trying to avoid American retribution for leaking top secret documents, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is on the road to freedom.<\/p>\n<p>In a highly orchestrated and highly unusual procedure, Assange was being flown Tuesday from the British prison where he has been for the past five years to the Mariana Islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where he will appear before a U.S. District Court judge.<\/p>\n<p>When he gets there, he will plead guilty to a conspiracy charge, be sentenced to the five years he has served in Britain, and be free, according to<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/justice-department\/julian-assange-reached-plea-deal-us-allowing-go-free-rcna158695\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> NBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wikileaks posted a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/wikileaks\/status\/1805391265489731716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video on X<\/a> of Assange boarding a plane in London on Monday evening, and included a caption that read in part: \u201cThis is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Julian Assange boards flight at London Stansted Airport at 5PM (BST) Monday June 24th. This is for everyone who worked for his freedom: thank you.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FreedJulianAssange?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FreedJulianAssange<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Pqp5pBAhSQ\">pic.twitter.com\/Pqp5pBAhSQ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wikileaks\/status\/1805391265489731716?\">June 25, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>  The Espionage Act <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nmid.6474\/gov.uscourts.nmid.6474.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charge against<\/a> Assange said that he conspired beginning in 2009 with an Army private then known as Bradley Manning to disseminate national security documents with various classified labels. (Bradley Manning is now known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-chelsea-manning-memoir-coming-in-winter-of-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">transgender activist Chelsea Manning<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.nmid.6474\/gov.uscourts.nmid.6474.3.0_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letter<\/a> from the Justice Department indicates that the Mariana Islands were chosen \u201din light of the defendant\u2019s opposition to traveling to the continental United States to enter his guilty plea and the proximity of this federal U.S. District Court to the defendant\u2019s country of citizenship, Australia, to which we expect he will return at the conclusion of the proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Assange is going free, some activists were unhappy with the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe United States has now, for the first time in the more than 100-year history of the Espionage Act, obtained an Espionage Act conviction for basic journalistic acts,\u201d said David Greene, director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation Civil Liberties, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/24\/us\/politics\/julian-assange-plea-deal.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Do you agree with Julian Assange being set free?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThese charges should never have been brought,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>As of Tuesday morning, the plane believed to be carrying Assange had landed in Bangkok, Thailand, to refuel, according to NBC.<\/p>\n<p>Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that \u201cthe case has dragged on for too long, there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Assange, with Manning\u2019s help, published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/bombshell-wikileaks-email-hillary-knew-wuhan-bioweapon-threat-2009\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents<\/a> about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, diplomatic cables, and assessments of detainees at Guant\u00e1namo Bay. In 2016, WikiLeaks struck again, this time with emails from the Democratic National Committee.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden White House distanced itself from the Assange deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice and there was no White House involvement in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/special-counsel-investigating-hunter-biden-changed-his-mind-about-plea-deal-before-it-blew-up-in-court-report\/\" title=\"Special Counsel Investigating Hunter Biden Changed His Mind About Plea Deal Before It Blew Up In Court: Report\">plea deal decision<\/a>,\u201d National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement Monday evening, according to NBC.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/julian-assange-learns-fate-years-long-legal-battle-us-extradition\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Assange<\/a> spent years on the run from sex charges in Sweden that have since been dropped. Seven of those years were spent in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, before he was booted from the embassy and arrested by British authorities.<\/p>\n<p>He had been held in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/navalny-speaks-about-faith-in-god-after-russian-court-rejects-his-appeal\/\" title=\"Navalny Speaks About Faith In God After Russian Court Rejects His Appeal\">high-security prison<\/a> for the past five years, according to NBC.<\/p>\n<p>Former Vice President Mike Pence castigated the deal.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration\u2019s plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mike_Pence\/status\/1805426412670570928?\">June 25, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p dir=\"null\" data-testid=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-apitype=\"text\" data-contentid=\"A5FXTJD4B5BRFHAD3SCIPDWLMQ\" data-el=\"text\" data-scroll-pos=\"6\" data-scroll-measured=\"true\">\u201cJulian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,\u201d Pence wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Mike_Pence\/status\/1805426412670570928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"null\" data-testid=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-apitype=\"text\" data-contentid=\"A5FXTJD4B5BRFHAD3SCIPDWLMQ\" data-el=\"text\" data-scroll-pos=\"6\" data-scroll-measured=\"true\">\u201cThe Biden administration\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>An Important Message from Our Staff:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We who work here at The Western Journal have fought for years against Big Tech and the elites who want to shut us down and then shut America down. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Make no mistake \u2014 nothing will be the same after November 2024. Will you help us fight? Will you <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>help us expose the America-hating elites<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  who will do everything they can to steal this election? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We\u2019re a small group of people fighting to save the country for our readers and for our own family and friends. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Can we count on your help?<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span>At this point, Big Tech has cut off our access to 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone took 90% of your paycheck and there was nothing you could do. They\u2019re trying to starve us out.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Donations from readers like you have literally helped keep our lights on, and <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>we need you<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  now more than ever. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We operate on a shoestring budget, but with that budget, we terrify the globalists. Please help us continue the fight. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>, and we will never surrender.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Thank you for reading The Western Journal and for believing in America. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>It is a pleasure to serve you.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. Please don\u2019t let the America-hating left win. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?hosted_button_id=BM6XAWRJ8NS7A&#038;utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Stand with us today<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-44685\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/russdavis\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-44685\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-44685\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-44685\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-44685\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues. <br \/> Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com. <\/p>\n<p>  Location <\/p>\n<p>  New York City <\/p>\n<p>  Languages Spoken <\/p>\n<p>  English <\/p>\n<p>  Topics of Expertise <\/p>\n<p>  Politics, Foreign Policy, Military &#038; Defense Issues <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After over a decade of evading U.S. retribution for leaking classified documents, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is nearing freedom. In an extraordinary move, Assange was flown from a British prison on Tuesday, marking a significant turn in his long legal saga<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":661,"featured_media":2283094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/julian-assange-for-july-25-2024.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32596,32537,4703,32595,8874],"class_list":["post-2283093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dramatic-fashion","tag-julian-assange","tag-standoff","tag-u-s-government","tag-wikileaks"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/julian-assange-for-july-25-2024.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}