Judge accepts Julian Assange’s guilty plea
Helen Davidson
Assange rises.
Judge Manglona speaks to the charge against him: How do you now plead?
Assange: guilty to the information.
Manglona: guilty to the sole charge?
Assange: Yes.
Manglona: It is the finding of this court … that the plea of guilty is now accepted.
The defendant is found guilty.
Key events
Court taking 20 minute break
Helen Davidson
It’s 10.47am in Saipan, and the court is taking a 20-minute break.
Judge accepts Julian Assange’s guilty plea
Helen Davidson
Assange rises.
Judge Manglona speaks to the charge against him: How do you now plead?
Assange: guilty to the information.
Manglona: guilty to the sole charge?
Assange: Yes.
Manglona: It is the finding of this court … that the plea of guilty is now accepted.
The defendant is found guilty.
Helen Davidson
Small error almost uncaught
Judge Manglona asks Julian Assange to rise, but then his lawyer asks quickly to confer with government counsel. Assange leans towards them in an apparent attempt to hear before Robinson grabs him on the arm to speak. Kevin Rudd also leans in for a brief exchange. We can’t hear what they’re saying.
His lawyer says there was a clarification about an agreed edit which didn’t make it into the final draft. It’s about potential breaches of the agreement which could violate it or cause the court to reject it. He wants to make sure that everything there is listed as “intentionally” to avoid any ambiguities.
It’s a small error but one that very nearly wasn’t caught. Both sides agree to do a quick fix now.
15 minute recess to take place before ‘final stage’, judge says
Helen Davidson
Judge Manglona says we’re nearly done with this “change of plea” section, then there will be a 15 minute recess before the “final stage”.
Helen Davidson
Judge Manglona is again asking Assange to confirm he wishes to plead guilty, be subject to the punishment, and waive rights to an indictment, trial, appeal, statute of limitations and others.
He agrees.
Helen Davidson
Assange’s actions knowing and deliberate, US attorney says
The actions of the defendant were in all respects knowing and deliberate, US attorney McKenzie says of Julian Assange. He says the details he has laid out are not “all the facts” but ones that are relevant for sentencing purposes.
He doesn’t dispute Assange’s statement of what he believes the first amendment ought to be. He says they don’t align with the statement of facts.
We reject those sentiments but accept that he believes them.
McKenzie says once the plea agreement is accepted and sentence is pronounced, US attorneys will lodge proceedings in the eastern district of Virginia “at the very moment” to dismiss other charges.
Despite the time difference, this should allow the agreement to come into immediate effect.
Reactions flow in the United States to Assange’s plea deal
Léonie Chao-Fong
The news of Julian Assange’s plea deal has drawn a mixed reaction from the US political spectrum, with some hailing the WikiLeaks founder as a champion of press freedom and others saying that he is a threat to national security.
James Clapper, director of US national intelligence in 2010 when Assange and his WikiLeaks organization published secret US intelligence documents with a consortium of newspapers including the Guardian, told CNN:
I actually think this came out pretty well … Critical to this was his plea of one count of espionage.
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 the US were exposed.
But Mike Pence, the former Republican vice-president, described Assange’s plea deal as “a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and their families”.
“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,” Pence said, adding:
There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever.
Helen Davidson
McKenzie, one of the US attorneys, is now reading through details of the classified information Chelsea Manning downloaded, and then provided to Wikileaks “understanding that at least some of them would be publicly posted”.
Helen Davidson
Further details of the crime
US attorneys are reading further details on the crime “to wilfully and unlawfully” obtain, deliver and transmit confidential information belonging to the United States Defence.
The defendant [using Wikileaks] publicly solicited information from people who had then current or prior classified information.
McKenzie is noting Wikileaks also published a “most wanted” list of leaks, including CIA databases, plus Iraq and Afghanistan rules of engagements, Guantanamo Bay interrogation techniques, CIA interrogations videos, and information about certain weapons systems.
Here is a photo of the US district courthouse in Saipan, where the hearing is currently unfolding.
Helen Davidson
Clarification of guilt
She’s asking his lawyers for a bit of clarification from that statement, which seemed to stray from what she might have expected as an admission of guilty.
Assange’s lawyer says his client feels the two laws should be separate, but he “understands that no court has held there is a first amendment defence to the espionage act … and is pleading guilty on that basis.”
Assange confirms.
Helen Davidson
Judge Manglona is asking Assange to explain “what it is you did” for which he is pleading guilty.
Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information. I believed the first amendment protected that activity but I accept that it was… a violation of the espionage statute.
She presses for more.
I believe the first amendment and the espionage act are in contradiction with each other but I accept that it would difficult to win such a case given all the circumstances.
Helen Davidson
Judge considers sentencing
The court is now hashing out sentencing details, and if Judge Manglona is to accept the guilty plea and other aspects of the agreement.
The US attorneys are telling the court details of the 35-year sentence initially issued to Assange’s “co-conspirator”, Chelsea Manning. That sentence was later commuted by then president, Barack Obama, and she served approximately seven years. The judge says this is something she can consider.
Helen Davidson
The US government is not pursuing any forfeiture from Assange.