The White House denied Tuesday that it was involved in the feds’ plea deal allowing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to go to Australia — despite President Biden previously saying he was „considering“ it.
The White House denied Tuesday that it was involved in the feds’ plea deal allowing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to go to Australia — despite President Biden previously saying he was “considering” it.
Assange, 52, is en route to the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory, to plead guilty to conspiring to obtain and disseminate national defense information — ending his 12-year legal saga that included seven years in Ecuador’s cramped London embassy and five years in prison fighting extradition to the US.
He is then set to head to his native Australia.
“This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice, and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
A source close to Assange, who is expected to receive a sentence of time served, said they were unaware of what if any role Biden may have played in the final resolution of the case.
Presidents do sometimes have a role in criminal cases that are significant for international relations, including by approving grants of clemency to foreigners held in US prisons as part of prisoner swaps.
