Julian Assange pleads guilty in exchange for his freedom, end to years-long legal battle

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one felony count under the Espionage Act for his role in publishing classified military information after striking a plea deal with Justice Department officials to secure his freedom and finally bring an end to the years-long legal saga.

The plea deal, which the DOJ disclosed Monday night, requires Assange to admit guilt without requiring more prison time. Part of the plea deal includes a sentence of five years that Assange already served in British prison, as he fought to avoid extradition to the U.S.

Assange entered the guilty plea in a federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific. The court is near his native Australia, where he planned to return after the hearing.

Assange flew from Britain on a charter plane with members of his legal team and Australian officials. He did not answer questions as he entered the courtroom, The Washington Post reported.

Assange answered basic questions inside the courthouse from a federal judge and appeared to listen intently as terms of the plea deal were discussed, the Associated Press reported. Assange will be required to destroy information that was provided to WikiLeaks as part of his plea deal.

He was accused of helping U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files for WikiLeaks to publish.

The massive leak of classified information sparked a national debate over whether Assange’s actions were heroic or harmful to the U.S. The documents shed light on what many saw as military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan, but prosecutors alleged Assange damaged the country’s national security and helped U.S. adversaries.

The Associated Press contributed.