WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to plead guilty to Espionage Act violation

Julian Assange reaches plea deal with US

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has entered into a plea deal for his alleged role in a government data breach as part of an agreement with the Justice Department that will allow him to avoid imprisonment, according to newly filed federal court documents.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act for conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information.

The deal with the U.S. Justice Department will resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to court papers filed late Monday.

Assange is scheduled to appear in the federal court in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Western Pacific.

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to reporters as he leaves The High Court on December 16, 2010 in London, England. Julian Assange has been released after being granted bail by the High Court. (Photo by Peter Macd

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The guilty plea, which must be approved by a judge, brings an abrupt conclusion to a criminal case of international intrigue and to the U.S. government's years-long pursuit of a publisher whose hugely popular secret-sharing website made him a cause célèbre among many press freedom advocates who said he acted as a journalist to expose U.S. military wrongdoing. Investigators, by contrast, have repeatedly asserted that his actions broke laws meant to protect sensitive information and put the country's national security at risk.

Julian Assange extradition to US approved by UK

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could soon be sent to the U.S. after the British government approved a long-standing extradition request related to espionage charges. Prosecutors have accused Assange of working with former military intelligence officer Chelsea Manning to leak classified military documents.

He is expected to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing, which is scheduled for Wednesday morning, local time in Saipan, the largest island in the Mariana Islands. The hearing is taking place there because of Assange’s opposition to traveling to the continental U.S. and the court’s proximity to Australia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported in Los Angeles.