Could a Guilty Plea Free Julian Assange From Jail?

America's Justice Department 'is considering whether to allow Julian Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information,' reports the Wall Street Journal, citing 'people familiar with the matter.'

Though Assange faces trial for publishing thousands of confidential U.S. documents in 2010, this development opens up 'the possibility of a deal that could eventually result in his release from a British jail,' reports the Journal.

Where things stand currently:

A U.K. court is currently considering whether to allow a last-ditch appeal by the 52-year-old. After U.S. prosecutors charged him in 2019, U.K. law-enforcement officials apprehended him, and he has been in a London prison ever since... Britain's High Court is expected to decide within weeks whether to grant Assange a further right to appeal his extradition to the U.S. If the court rules against him, the U.S. government will likely have 28 days to come and collect Assange and bring him to face trial.

But...
Justice Department officials and Assange's lawyers have had preliminary discussions in recent months about what a plea deal could look like to end the lengthy legal drama, according to people familiar with the matter, a potential softening in a standoff filled with political and legal complexities. The talks come as Assange has spent some five years behind bars. U.S. prosecutors face diminishing odds that he would serve much more time even if he were convicted stateside.

The discussions remain in flux, and talks could fizzle. Any deal would require approval at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Assange, said he has been given no indication that the department will take a deal. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

If prosecutors allow Assange to plead to a U.S. charge of mishandling classified documents — something his lawyers have floated as a possibility — it would be a misdemeanor offense. Under such a deal, Assange potentially could enter that plea remotely, without setting foot in the U.S. The time he has spent behind bars in London would count toward any U.S. sentence, and he would likely be free to leave prison shortly after any deal was concluded.

U.S. authorities 'gave a package of assurances, including a pledge he could be transferred to his native Australia to serve any sentence,' according to the article.
The Australian government, which has largely been supportive of Assange, could shorten any sentence once he landed on Australian soil, said Nick Vamos, a partner at London law firm Peters & Peters and a former head of extradition for England and Wales's Crown Prosecution Service. 'I honestly think as soon as he arrived in Australia he would be released,' he said.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.