DoJ is ‘considering giving Wikileaks founder Julian Assange a plea deal that would allow him to avoid extradition and plead guilty to misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information’

Julian Assange is reportedly in talks with the Justice Department to plead guilty to a lesser offense and avoid extradition to the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports.

Anonymous sources cited by the Journal on Wednesday say the guilty plea would apply to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information.

The five years he spent in Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom would count as time served, the sources said, and Assange would likely be released soon after the deal was finalized.

Such a deal has not yet been approved and would require the highest levels of DoJ approval.

The Wikileaks founder, 52, is desperately trying to fight extradition to the United States, where he faces 175 years in prison if convicted of espionage.

The five years he spent in Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom would be considered time served, the sources said. Assange supporters are seen in Munich in February

Some demonstrators outside the municipality building in Milan, Italy, are protesting the extradition of Julian Assange earlier this month.

The deal would end the battle between Assange and the US government, which began in 2010 after Assange posted thousands of classified military documents online.

However, Assange’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, told the Journal that he had seen no indication that the Justice Department would accept the deal.

If the deal goes through, Assange would be able to plead remotely, saving him a trip to the United States, where Assange has said he fears for his life.

Assange’s long legal saga in the UK includes seven years of self-exile in a foreign embassy and five years in prison.

A British court is currently considering whether to allow a final appeal by Assange, who has been incarcerated in London prison since 2019. If the court rules against him, the United States will have 28 days to recover Assange and the ‘take to the United States to deal with it. accusations against him.

The Australian computer expert has been indicted in the United States on 18 counts over Wikileaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.

Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack a Pentagon computer and leak secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Assange and his supporters argue that he acted as a journalist to expose wrongdoing by the US military and is protected by press freedom.

Stella Assange gave an update on her husband’s health in February

The U.S. government says Assange endangered the lives of countless U.S. allies and service members by publishing this information.

He faces 17 counts of espionage and one charge of misuse of a computer. If convicted, his lawyers say he could face a prison term of up to 175 years, although U.S. authorities have said that sentence would likely be much lighter.

Assange and his supporters say he acted as a journalist to expose wrongdoing by the US military and is protected by the freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

His wife Stella Assange gave an update on his health last month during an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s X show.

“He’s not doing well, he didn’t even attend these hearings and this is the decisive hearing,” Stella said.

“If he had not been detained at Belmarsh Prison for the past five years he would not be in this state of deterioration and decline. Every day he spends in prison is a day his health deteriorates.