#WikiLeaks founder #JulianAssange strikes #PleaDeal with the U.S.

June 24, 20247:05 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
Carrie Johnson

"WikiLeaks founder Julian #Assange has entered into a plea deal with the U.S. government, bringing an end to a years-long international saga over his handling of national security secrets.

"Assange is preparing to plead guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense in a U.S. federal court in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific, this week, according to newly filed court papers.

"Under the terms of the agreement, Assange faces a sentence of 62 months, equivalent to the time he has already served at #BelmarshPrison in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition to the United States. He is expected to be released and to return to his home country of Australia following the court proceeding later this week.

"Australian leaders have been lobbying the #Biden administration to drop the criminal case for years. President Biden confirmed at a news conference in April that American authorities had been 'considering' such a move."

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2024/06/24/nx-s1-5017953/julian-assange-plea-deal

#FreeAssange #PressFreedom #NoWar #NoMoreSecrets

@DoomsdaysCW

Interesting. And now, more importantly, #PardonDonziger #FreeDonziger

@MarkBrigham And for those NOT familiar with #StevenDonziger...

Steven Donziger, Lawyer Targeted by #Chevron, Appeals to #Biden for #Pardon

by Jessica Corbett
Mar 20, 2024

"A pardon would bring a measure of justice to a prosecution that has been widely criticized as a violation of international law... and as a grave threat to #FreeSpeech,' said 14 attorneys backing the #ClimateJustice lawyer's request.

"After exhausting his options in the judicial system, American attorney Steven Donziger on Wednesday launched a campaign seeking a pardon from U.S. President Joe Biden for his #misdemeanor conviction—the result of a process that experts worldwide have condemned as retaliatory for his climate justice work and an abuse of the nation's judiciary.

"'No matter where one stands on the political spectrum, we should all be able to agree that what happened to me in the United States should not happen to anybody in any country that adheres to the rule of law,' Donziger said in a statement announcing a letter to Biden signed by 14 prominent lawyers and a leader at the advocacy group #AmazonWatch.

"''#Corporations should not be allowed to take direct control of a public prosecution from the government and lock up their critics, as happened to me,' asserted Donziger, who spent 993 days in federal prison and on house arrest. 'It's an outrageous abuse of power that not only wrecked me and my family's life for three years but also embarrassed our country in the eyes of the world.'"

https://www.commondreams.org/news/donziger-pardon

#ClimateActivist #FreeDonziger #PardonDonziger

Steven Donziger, Lawyer Targeted by Chevron, Appeals to Biden for Pardon | Common Dreams

"A pardon would bring a measure of justice to a prosecution that has been widely criticized as a violation of international law... and as a grave threat to free speech," said 14 attorneys backing the climate justice lawyer's request.

Common Dreams

@DoomsdaysCW

Thank you for the added context.

Everyone should know about this travesty.

And for every Steven Donziger, there are probably a thousand people of lesser means and stature that have been trampled by the #OilyBoys

@MarkBrigham And thank you for the reminder about #StevenDonziger !