WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange arrives at the United States Courthouse where he entered a guilty plea to an espionage charge.SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge of violating the Espionage Act, a day after he entered a plea deal with the U.S.
When asked by Chief Judge Ramona Manglona what he did to constitute the crime charged, Assange, an Australian citizen, replied:"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."
Assange pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to the national defense in a U.S. federal court. Under the terms of the agreement, Assange faces a sentence of 62 months, equivalent to the time he has already served at Belmarsh Prison in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition to the United States. The judge said Assange was required to direct WikiLeaks tto destroy material containing classified information, though given how long this case has gone on, such an action is likely to have minimal impact.
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