# Julian Assange (remember him?) update **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 5, 2016, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210 "2016-02-05T07:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/481 "2024-03-03T19:55:06Z")
> [@Common\_Tater](#): > > I’m too lazy to look it up, but ISTR “Lord Haw Haw” a guy named Bill Joyce was tried (and hanged) by the Brits after WWII and he wasn’t even a limey citizen. If you piss off the right people, legalities are barely an inconvenience. They did the same to Mary, Queen of Scots whose defence was that, as a foreigner and a monarch to boot, she did not owe allegiance to Elizabeth I but they executed her for treason anyways. So England has a long history of that. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/482 "2024-03-04T02:41:15Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > It’s reasonable to expect that the Australian citizen would be locked up in a US Supermax indefinitely. Oh, I would reasonably expect that if found guilty he would be given a fixed sentence. (Probably longer than you or I, and definitely he, would prefer, but fixed.) However the art-hostage-taker does seem to be convinced, as seem to be many across these years of the whole saga, that the US intends to make Assange die in their custody one way or another. . ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/483 "2024-03-04T02:50:47Z")
Well yes, I agree Assange would receive a fixed sentence. It could last [up to 175 years if he was convicted of all charges](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julian-assange-extradition-appeal-hearing-today-london-wikileaks-secrets/), but it wouldn’t be _forever_. (Cite says the sentence would likely be lower.) Manning, in contrast, was in prison from 2010 to 2017. If that was the cap, I’d say extradite away, though this case still brings up compelling issues of press freedom and cross-jurisdictional over-reach, in addition to compelling national security issues. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/484 "2024-03-05T03:54:50Z")
Interesting how the Brits used allegiance. Nobody wants _that_ standard today, of that we can be sure. So where is Assange from? Australia? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2024, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/485 "2024-03-05T21:14:42Z")
Born there, yes, in Queensland. And there’s this: [Julian Assange stripped of citizenship by Ecuador | Julian Assange | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/28/julian-assange-stripped-of-citizenship-by-ecuador) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/486 "2024-05-19T14:45:28Z")
> **[WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange facing pivotal moment in long fight to stay...](https://apnews.com/article/wikileaks-julian-assange-espionage-extradition-london-appeal-f46adda2a71c9f2bdd88eb16d8e606f7)** > > WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in England over whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2024, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/487 "2024-06-24T23:28:09Z")
Assange to plea guilty to one felony charge; will appear in US courtroom in Northern Mariana Islands. Prosecutors recommend 62 months custody, with full credit for 5 years so far in UK prison. He will then be sent to Australia. If I understand this correctly. > **[Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, to plead guilty to violating the Espionage...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/julian-assange-wikileaks-pleads-guilty-espionage-act/)** > > Assange, who has been in custody in the United Kingdom, is set to appear in a U.S. court in the Northern Mariana Islands ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/488 "2024-06-25T00:43:47Z")
And here I was assured that The Deep State was going to waterboard and execute him if he ever found himself in US custody. I’m beginning to think that this shadow cabal that runs the entire government and media and both parties from behind the scenes might not be all they’re cracked up to be. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/489 "2024-06-25T02:27:18Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > And here I was assured that The Deep State was going to waterboard and execute him if he ever found himself in US custody. Or sentence him to a century in solitary. Still, cute that apparently everyone agreed that the Federal Courthouse in Saipan is a less threatening place to enter his plea than anywhere in CONUS. Probably also a way to keep press away, not that many hotel rooms there… then take a short hop to somewhere that has direct flights to Australia and he’s no longer their problem. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/490 "2024-06-25T04:44:23Z")
I very much doubt whether Assange would have received an offer like this in 2012 or 2014. Five years in a UK prison? No way. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a maximum security prison; Amnesty International complained justifiably about her pre-trial treatment. She only served less time due to Obama commuting her sentence. With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars over, I suspect the Biden administration wants to put this behind them, partly to keep its Australian ally happy. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/491 "2024-06-25T04:48:50Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Still, cute that apparently everyone agreed that the Federal Courthouse in Saipan is a less threatening place to enter his plea than anywhere in CONUS. Or maybe it’s just closer to Australia? By several thousand miles? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/492 "2024-06-25T13:28:39Z")
Looks like the venue was part of the deal: > [@](#): > > In a letter to the federal judge on Monday, the Justice Department said Assange opposed traveling to the continental U.S. to enter the guilty plea. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/493 "2024-06-25T16:20:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I’m beginning to think that this shadow cabal that runs the entire government and media and both parties from behind the scenes might not be all they’re cracked up to be. Donald Trump’s platform was to drain the swamp and clean the government of the Deep State. His platform is also that he can perform such magical feats as making Mexico build for our construction of a border wall, end the war in Ukraine within moments of entering office, and hire the best people. He’s already been president and, with his 100% success rate in all things ever attempted, we can be satisfied that he removed the Deep State. It is no more. Or he completely flubbed it. One of those two. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/494 "2024-06-25T18:28:46Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Still, cute that apparently everyone agreed that the Federal Courthouse in Saipan is a less threatening place to enter his plea than anywhere in CONUS. That is an interesting choice. If the judge pulls a Polanski on him and completely disregards the deal, I assume Assange will want to run. But he’s going to have a lot less in the way of options for doing that in Saipan. Just to be clear, I don’t think the US is going to rendition him. But they certainly could and in this case, with ease. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/495 "2024-06-25T19:26:36Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > he’s going to have a lot less in the way of options for doing that in Saipan. Assange hiding out in the bush in Saipan like some holdout WW2 Japanese soldier until he can hijack a boat and sail it south sounds like a so-bad-it’s-good movie pitch. OK so this leaves us with Snowden still pending, I suppose? Then again being under Vlad’s “protection” may be sonething of a sentence itself… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/496 "2024-06-25T19:48:44Z")
The good deal does seem curious. I mean, there is the reasonable argument that he’s effectively already served his sentence. But you do have to wonder if he traded info to the US (e.g. ratting out Roger Stone), if we’re trying to get him onto our territory so we can snatch him up, or - the boring option - the DOJ is skeptical of the Constitutionality of the charges and is happy to trade a guilty plea for a court trial. Usually, the boring option is a good choice but I’m not as confident on this one. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/497 "2024-06-25T22:10:37Z")
Another boring reason to avoid a trial for the DOJ is the headache of making classified information available to Assange’s legal team as part of the discovery process. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/498 "2024-06-25T22:43:47Z")
Note the cost of his trip: > along with a crowdfunding appeal to cover the **$520,000 (£410,000/$A783,000) cost** of the Bombardier Global 6000 jet that took him to Saipan. He had not been permitted to fly commercially. > **[From a plea deal to a 2am prison call: how Julian Assange finally gained freedom](https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/25/from-a-plea-deal-to-a-2am-prison-call-how-julian-assange-finally-gained-freedom)** > > A lawyer’s offer, a judgment that foretold years of legal wrangling, and diplomatic pressure all played a part in the release of the WikiLeaks founder ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/499 "2024-06-25T23:26:02Z")
That’s an impressive amount of money to ask other people to pay, for sure, but seems like he’d have to pay it no matter what if he can’t fly commercial. Particularly if that prohibition will still be in place post-court appearance in Saipan. I mean, he’s still got to get from the UK to Australia via a US territory _some_ way. And, as noted, Saipan is closer to his destination. Even the same or similar time zone. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210/500 "2024-06-26T05:39:20Z")
> The deal required the iconoclastic internet publisher to admit guilt to a single felony count but also permitted him to return to Australia without any time in an American prison. The judge sentenced him to the five years he’d already spent behind bars in the United Kingdom, fighting extradition to the United States on an Espionage Act indictment that could have carried a lengthy prison sentence in the event of a conviction. He was holed up for seven years before that in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. > > **He smiled slightly as U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona imposed the sentence, pronouncing him a “free man.”** > **[WikiLeaks’ Assange pleads guilty to publishing US military secrets in deal...](https://apnews.com/article/assange-justice-department-plea-wikileaks-saipan-australia-00eb380879ff636cc9b916f82f82ed40)** > > The plea was entered Wednesday morning in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/julian-assange-remember-him-update/745210.md?page=26)