Julian Assange has “paid his dues” over his WikiLeaks disclosures, according to the former US director of national intelligence.
Mr Assange left the UK on Monday after his release from prison following a plea deal brokered with US authorities.
Court papers filed by the US Justice Department show Mr Assange is scheduled to appear in federal court to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information.
The US Justice Department has agreed to drop 18 espionage charges against him – instead charging him only with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
The journalist will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, with the five years he has spent incarcerated in HMP Belmarsh counting towards that period.
James Clapper, who was US director of national intelligence when Assange leaked documents in 2010, told CNN: “I actually think this came out pretty well… critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage.
“The law enforcement and intelligence community would not have bought into this without that.
“He’s paid his dues. There was a damage assessment done at the time – there was concern but I don’t recall direct proof that assets in Afghanistan and Iraq supporting or helping US were exposed.”
Mr Assange will return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday morning local time in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific.
It follows WikiLeaks publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
In a court order released on Tuesday, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said Julian Assange had left the jurisdiction of England and Wales at 6.36pm on Monday, after a plea agreement was signed on June 19.
The judges added that it was “anticipated that a plea will be entered and accepted on Wednesday June 26 2024, after which the United States have undertaken to withdraw the extradition request”.
They also said that the lawyers for Assange and the US authorities would need to provide an agreed document related to the pending extradition appeal proceedings by Friday afternoon.
Stella Assange said her husband will “be a free man” once a plea deal with the US is “signed off by a judge”.
Asked if the case involved Mr Assange pleading guilty to one charge, Stella Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Yes, the charge concerns the Espionage Act, and obtaining and disclosing national defence information.”
Ms Assange, a lawyer who has worked on her husband’s legal team, added: “The important thing here is that the deal involved time served – that if he signed it, he would be able to walk free.
“He will be a free man once it has been signed off by a judge and that will happen some time tomorrow.”
01:45 PM BST
That’s all for today
That’s all for now. Thanks for following our live blog.
Here is a summary of what has happened today:
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Julian Assange was released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures
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Alexander Downer, the former foreign secretary of Australia and former high commissioner to the UK said this was an appropriate way to bring the saga to an end
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Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister told the nation’s parliament on Tuesday “we want him brought home to Australia”
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Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange told the BBC she is “elated” and feels a “whirlwind of emotion” following his release from Belmarsh Prison
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Assange landed in Bangkok at around noon local time
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Mike Pence, the former US vice president, criticised Assange’s plea deal, calling it a ‘miscarriage of justice’
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James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence when Assange leaked documents in 2010, said the journalist had “paid his dues”
01:00 PM BST
Assange release victory for journalists, says industry organisation
Julian Assange’s release from prison is a victory for journalists around the world, according to journalist organisations.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) described the development as a “significant victory for media freedom.”
A statement said: “The dropping of 17 of the 18 charges that he faced avoids the criminalisation of the normal journalistic practices of encouraging sources to confidentially share evidence of wrongdoing and criminality.”
IFJ president Dominique Pradalie said: “Julian Assange is free. Victory for the right to inform and to be informed. Victory for journalists around the world.”
IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger added: “The attempted prosecution of Julian Assange cast a dark shadow over journalists, particularly those who cover national security issues. Had Assange gone to prison for the rest of his life, any reporter handed a classified document would fear facing a similar fate.”
12:50 PM BST
Assange released from prison after reaching plea agreement
12:12 PM BST
Plea agreement signed on June 19
In a court order released on Tuesday, Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Johnson said Julian Assange had left the jurisdiction of England and Wales at 6.36pm on Monday, after a plea agreement was signed on June 19.
The judges added that it was “anticipated that a plea will be entered and accepted on Wednesday June 26 2024, after which the United States have undertaken to withdraw the extradition request”.
They also said that the lawyers for Assange and the US authorities would need to provide an agreed document related to the pending extradition appeal proceedings by Friday afternoon.
12:10 PM BST
Assange bail hearing held in private, says Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service said a bail hearing for Julian Assange was held in private last Thursday.
Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, said: “Thirteen-and-a-half years and two extradition requests after he was first arrested, Julian Assange left the UK yesterday, following a bail hearing last Thursday, held in private at his request.
“I am proud of the way our extradition unit has dealt with this case. They have acted with expertise and skill, under international scrutiny, to provide legal advice to both the Swedish and US authorities.
“This case has absorbed considerable time and resource from the criminal justice system over many years. The intended outcome of the plea agreement will be to accomplish the primary objective of delivering justice. It will also save the continuing substantial resource outlay involved in litigating this matter further in England.”
John Sheehan, head of extradition at the CPS, said: “This has been a highly complex matter involving advising and representing the Swedish and US authorities. In this period, the CPS’s extradition unit has faced and dealt with novel and challenging legal issues. Mr Assange has also utilised all the legal protections available to him.
“This has culminated in facilitating the arrangements necessary to enable Mr Assange to leave the UK legally and safely.”
11:44 AM BST
Huge burden lifted following Assange release, says father
Julian Assange’s freedom has “lifted a huge burden” from his family, his father John Shipton told the PA news agency.
11:22 AM BST
Telegraph readers give their thoughts on Assange deal
11:02 AM BST
Comment: Assange isn’t a hero, but a Left-wing dupe who damaged national security
I for one will not be celebrating Julian Assange’s plea deal.
Assange is no hero to me and to many other veterans in this country, and the US, who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere to protect our democracy. He is but a Left-wing dupe who damaged our national security and that of our allies, putting lives at risk.
Read the full article by Hamish De Bretton-Gordon here.
10:31 AM BST
Assange has paid his dues, says former US director of national intelligence
James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence when Assange leaked documents in 2010, said the journalist had “paid his dues”.
Mr Clapper told CNN: “I actually think this came out pretty well… critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage.
“The law enforcement and intelligence community would not have bought into this without that.
“He’s paid his dues. There was a damage assessment done at the time – there was concern but I don’t recall direct proof that assets in Afghanistan and Iraq supporting or helping US were exposed.”
10:15 AM BST
Mike Pence criticises Assange deal
Mike Pence, the former US vice president, has criticised Assange’s plea deal.
He called it a “miscarriage of justice”, adding that Mr Assange should have “been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the… national security of the United States. Ever.”
10:05 AM BST
Recap: Julian Assange leaves UK after plea deal
Julian Assange has left the UK following his release from prison thanks to a plea deal brokered with US authorities over his WikiLeaks disclosures.
Mr Assange left Belmarsh prison on Monday morning and boarded a flight from Stansted Airport before landing at Bangkok airport to refuel at around noon local time on Tuesday.
Court papers filed by the US Justice Department show Assange is scheduled to appear in federal court to plead guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defence information.
The US Justice Department has agreed to drop 18 espionage charges against him – instead charging him only with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
He will return to his home country of Australia after his plea and sentencing, scheduled for Wednesday morning local time in the Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the Western Pacific.
It follows WikiLeaks publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
09:39 AM BST
Assange paying $500,000 for a flight to Australia
Julian Assange is paying half a million US dollars for the flight which is taking him to Australia, his wife Stella told the PA news agency.
09:37 AM BST
Assange release marks ‘new chapter’, says wife
Julian Assange’s wife Stella said the couple wanted to start “this new chapter” following her husband’s release from prison.
Asked what the couple plan to do now, Ms Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “We haven’t even had an opportunity to have a long conversation about this and I think we don’t even know.
“The priority now is for Julian to get healthy again.
“He’s been in a terrible state for five years. To just be in contact with nature, that’s what we both desire for now.
“And to have time and privacy and just start this new chapter.”
Asked about her family life, Ms Assange, a lawyer who has worked on her husband’s legal team, said: “It’s always been quite extraordinary but I am just so emotional now that this is finally over.”
09:21 AM BST
Assange’s children are ‘not yet’ aware of his release
Julian Assange’s wife Stella said the couple’s children are “not yet” aware that their father has been released from prison.
Asked if she had told their children, Ms Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Not yet. All I told them was that there was a big surprise and on the morning that we left, I told them we were heading to the airport and we got on the plane and I told them that we were going to visit our family, their cousin, their grandfather and so on.
“They still don’t know – we’ve been very careful because obviously no one can stop a five and a seven-year-old from shouting it from the rooftops at any given moment.
“And because of the sensitivity around the judge having to sign off the deal, we’ve been very careful – just gradually, incrementally telling them information. They’re very excited to be in Australia though.”
Ms Assange said she would tell her children about their father’s release before they see him.
She added: “They’ve never seen him outside of Belmarsh. All their interactions with Julian have been in a single visitors room inside Belmarsh Prison. It’s always been for a little more than an hour at a time. It’s been very restrictive.
“He can’t walk around, he can’t go to the tuck shop – he wasn’t able to go to the tuck shop and buy a chocolate or anything. You see, I have to change my tenses now – it’s been so long that I’m not used to talking about Julian free in the present.”
09:11 AM BST
Pictured: Assange speaks from Stansted airport to wife in Australia via video call
09:08 AM BST
Stella Assange says ‘interesting’ plea deal with US ‘will be made public’
Julian Assange’s wife Stella said her husband’s “interesting” plea deal with the US “will be made public”.
Ms Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “The deal itself will be made public and I think it’s a very interesting deal.
“I’m sorry, I can’t really talk about it in detail. I certainly have views about the deal but I don’t want to jeopardise anything.”
Ms Assange added: “I was having discussions with Julian about his freedom.
“And for me as his wife, and all of our family, the priority has always been that Julian should be able to be free – to regain his freedom.
“And he has been in Belmarsh Prison for over five years in relation to this outrageous case, which is criminalising the publication and disclosure of information that incriminates states.”
09:06 AM BST
Pictured: Julian Assange Interpol appeal
08:46 AM BST
Stella Assange says husband will be ‘a free man’ once deal signed off
Stella Assange said her husband will “be a free man” once a plea deal with the US is “signed off by a judge”.
Asked if the case involved Mr Assange pleading guilty to one charge, Stella Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “Yes, the charge concerns the Espionage Act, and obtaining and disclosing national defence information.”
Ms Assange, a lawyer who has worked on her husband’s legal team, added: “The important thing here is that the deal involved time served – that if he signed it, he would be able to walk free.
“He will be a free man once it has been signed off by a judge and that will happen some time tomorrow.”
08:44 AM BST
Stella Assange says there is an ‘agreement in principle’ between US DoJ and husband
The wife of Julian Assange said there was an “agreement in principle” between her husband and the US Department of Justice.
Stella Assange told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “What there is, is an agreement in principle between Julian and the Department of Justice.
“And that has to be signed off by a judge in these Northern Mariana Islands which is in the Pacific Ocean where he is going to be headed, but he’s currently in Bangkok on a layover.
“And once the judge signs off on it, then it is formally real.
“So I’m also a little bit limited as to what I can say right now about the agreement in principle.”
08:25 AM BST
Stella Assange ‘elated’ following WikiLeaks founder release
Julian Assange’s wife Stella Assange told the BBC she is “elated” and feels a “whirlwind of emotion” following his release from Belmarsh Prison after reaching a plea deal with the US over an espionage charge.
She told BBC Radio 4: “It’s a whirlwind of emotions. I mean I’m just elated. It’s just incredible.”
Asked about the conversations that led to his release, Ms Assange said: “Well, it’s been so touch and go, we weren’t really sure until the last 24 hours that it was actually happening.
“We were talking about – I don’t know what he needed to do and take from his cell and I also had to pack things up, and head out to Australia 24 hours before he left.
“So it’s just been non-stop for the past, I think, 72 hours.”
08:22 AM BST
Pictured: Plane carrying Assange seen on tarmac at Bangkok airport
08:19 AM BST
What did Julian Assange do? Timeline of the Wikileaks legal saga
Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail in what will likely be the last legal twist of a complex and high-stakes battle with the courts that has run for more than a decade.
The Australian journalist and campaigner, 52, has spent the last five years in HMP Belmarsh, attempting to avoid extradition to the United States.
There, it was thought he faced espionage charges that carry a sentence of up to 175 years in prison.
Read how the full story unfloded here.
08:06 AM BST
Pictured: Julian Assange over the years
08:00 AM BST
We want him home, says Australia prime minister
Speaking on Assange’s release, Anthony Albanese, Australian prime minister told the nation’s parliament on Tuesday “we want him brought home to Australia”.
He said: “I’ve been very clear as both the Labour leader and opposition, but also as prime minister that – regardless of the views that people have about Mr Assange’s activities – the 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.”
Mr Albanese added that Australian diplomatic forces “have engaged and advocated Australia’s interest using all appropriate channels to support a positive outcome”, which he took up early in his role after being elected prime minister in 2022.
He added: “I will have more to say when these legal proceedings have concluded, which I hope will be very soon, and I will report as appropriate at that time.”
07:58 AM BST
WikiLeaks statement announcing Assange Belmarsh departure
In a statement posted on X just after midnight on Tuesday, the official WikiLeaks account said Assange was granted bail by the High Court in London and released from Belmarsh Prison on Monday morning “after having spent 1,901 days there”.
The statement continued: “He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK.
“This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations.
“This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised.”
07:53 AM BST
Julian Assange released from prison after reaching plea deal with US
Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures.
Papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific Ocean, on Monday revealed Mr Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge in exchange for his immediate freedom.
Read the full story here.
07:50 AM BST
Watch: Assange boards plane at Stansted airport
07:49 AM BST
Assange has admitted to a very serious offence, says former foreign secretary of Australia
Alexander Downer, the former foreign secretary of Australia and former high commissioner to the UK, told BBC Radio 4: “I think but I don’t know that the Australian government has had discussions with the Americans about it and I think it’s probably fair to say they have wanted this saga to come to an end.
“And this is an appropriate way for it to be brought to an end. The plea bargain is such that Julian Assange has admitted his guilt in this case to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information which is an extremely serious offence, so he’s pleaded guilty to that.
“And the time he has spent in jail in the UK will be taken into account in determining his release, but I don’t think we should walk past the fact that it is a very serious charge that he’s admitted to, so in that sense, it’s no doubt appropriate.”
He added: “He’s pleaded guilty. That’s part of the plea bargain. So the fact is, we can now satisfactorily say he was guilty of a very serious offence.”
07:09 AM BST
Assange released on bail after plea deal
Julian Assange has been released from prison on bail and will return to Australia after reaching a plea deal with the US government over his WikiLeaks disclosures.
Papers filed in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, an American territory in the Pacific Ocean, on Monday revealed Mr Assange will plead guilty to one felony charge in exchange for his immediate freedom.
The US Justice Department has agreed to drop 18 espionage charges against him – instead charging him only with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
Under the terms of the deal, the journalist will be sentenced to 62 months in prison, but the five years he has already spent incarcerated in HMP Belmarsh in the UK will count against that period.
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