The Julian Assange case ends “with me here in Saipan”, a judge said at a US court hearing that saw the WikiLeaks founder walk free after pleading guilty to one charge.
In an audio recording of the hearing released by the court in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific, Mr Assange was heard pleading guilty to his role in the conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act and was sentenced to time already served in a British prison.
During the hearing, which took place just after midnight on Wednesday, Judge Ramona Manglona told Mr Assange she hoped there would be “some peace restored” after he walked out of the court “a free man” and wished him luck.
The plea agreement resolves a long-running legal case over the publication of classified documents, and lawyers for the US told the court that once Mr Assange was sentenced, they would withdraw the extradition request.
The court hearing ended with Judge Manglona inviting Mr Assange up to the lectern.
She said: “Mr Assange, you stand before me to be sentenced in this criminal action and as I stated under the sentencing factors after considering the guideline range here and the agreement, I would note the following.
“First, timing matters, I will say this, if this case were brought before me some time near about 2012 or thereabouts, without the benefit of what I know now, which is that you’ve actually served a period of imprisonment, that based on what we’ve just discussed is at least five years, at apparently one of the harshest facilities in the United Kingdom, would it be fair to say it’s possibly equivalent to the Bureau of Prisons, supermax, that is a significant fact.
“There’s another significant fact – the government has indicated there is no personal victim here.
“That tells me I can surmise that the dissemination of information that occurred in this instance did not result in any known physical injury and that these two facts are very relevant, because I would say, if this were still yet unknown, and close in time to when the dissemination started in April 2010, I would not be so inclined to accept this plea deal presented to me.”
She said in comparison to Chelsea Manning’s prison time, Mr Assange’s 62 months spent in Belmarsh is “fair and reasonable and proportionate”.
Judge Manglona added: “For these reasons, given the factual basis that accounts for the whole saga of events that constitutes the basis for this very serious espionage charge against you. And given as I said, what is in fact the status of affairs here today in the year 2024.
“I am in fact, sentencing you to a period of time served and pursuant to your plea agreement with time served and credit for the time served, I am not imposing any period of supervised release.”
She added that assuming he complies with all terms and conditions and there is no breach of the plea agreement, “it would end the case with me here in Saipan”.
“With this pronouncement, it appears that you will be able to walk out of this courtroom a free man”, she said. “I do hope that there will in fact be some peace restored.”
Matthew McKenzie, for the United States government, said the US will be withdrawing the extradition request “forthwith”.
The judge ended proceedings by saying: “Mr Assange, apparently it’s an early happy birthday to you. I understand your birthday is next week.
“It’s probably the first one you celebrate outside a prison or any time of a limitation so, I hope you will start living your life in a positive note. Good luck to you.”
The court hearing began with the judge discussing jurisdiction, she said the district is “the 94th district in the country, it is the smallest, youngest and furthest from our nation’s capital”.
Judge Manglona asked Mr McKenzie why the case has been filed in Saipan, and he replied it is because it is close to Mr Assange’s native Australia and would accommodate him travelling home shortly after the proceeding and it is an “appropriate venue for this proceeding”.
Asked if there are any victims of the offence under the Crime Victims’ Act, Mr McKenzie said: “As we’ve stipulated to in the agreement, there are no individual victims that are qualified pursuing to that act.”
Mr Assange was sworn in by the clerk, giving his name as Julian Paul Assange, he said he is 52 and has been a “consultant, journalist, computer programmer, editor and documentary maker”.
The judge read the charge to the court, saying it was “conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information” and added the crime is “punishable up to 10 years imprisonment”.
Asked if he understood that, Mr Assange said “I do”.
Mr Assange was asked if he was prepared to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty to the information and he replied “guilty to the information”.
Part of the plea agreement requires Mr Assange to destroy any unpublished information is his possession, control or custody or that of WikiLeaks or any affiliate of WikiLeaks, and to instruct editors of WikiLeaks to destroy such information, the court heard.
Mr Assange was asked a number of questions, including if he was fully satisfied with the counsel representation and advice given by his lawyer Barry Pollack, and he said “it might depend on the outcome of the hearing”, which was met with laughter.
The court was then told that Mr Assange’s “co-conspirator” Chelsea Manning was found guilty of various offences under the Uniform Code of Military Justice “related to the facts of this conspiracy” and in August 2013 was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The then-President Barack Obama commuted all but four months of her sentence in January 2017, so she served about seven years in prison.
Judge Manglona asked Mr Assange what is it he did that will constitute the crime charged.
Mr Assange said: “Working as a journalist I encouraged my source to provide information that was said to be classified in order to publish that information.
“I believe that the First Amendment protected that activity but I accept that as written it’s a violation of the Espionage Act statute.”
Mr Assange’s defence Mr Pollack said Mr Assange “believes that the conduct of issue should be protected by the First Amendment but understands that no court has held that there is a First Amendment defence to the Espionage Act, he understands that his conduct violates the terms of the Espionage Act, and is pleading guilty on that basis”.
Reading from the plea agreement, Mr McKenzie said between 2009 and continuing until 2011, the defendant “knowingly and unlawfully conspired with former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who held a top secret US security clearance, to wilfully and unlawfully obtained deliver, transmit and communicate documents, writings and notes relating to the national defence including classified information to persons not entitled to receive such items and information, including the defendant himself”.
Judge Manglona discussed a guideline range of 41 to 51 months imprisonment, but said Mr Assange was “entitled to credit for time served for the entire period he has been incarcerated”.
She said the defendant has served approximately 62 months in prison.
Mr Assange had made statements to reflect “it’s been a 14-year ordeal”, the judge added.
