Australia Briefing

Assange Plea

Julian Assange arrives at court in London on May 1, 2019.Photographer: Daniel Leal/Getty Images

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By Edward Johnson

June 25, 2024 at 10:45 PM UTC

Good morning from Sydney. It’s Ed here with the news you need to start your day.

Today’s must-reads:
• Assange’s plea deal
• New Zealand’s struggling economy
• Pension fund’s riskier bets

After an almost 15-year battle to avoid imprisonment in the US, the Julian Assange saga is coming to an end. The WikiLeaks co-founder is expected to plead guilty to leaking US national security secrets and return to his home country of Australia, under a deal with the Justice Department in Washington.

The case will always live in a legal gray area, according to Bloomberg opinion columnist Noah Feldman. The outcome is unlikely to satisfy either national security hawks or First Amendment absolutists who think freedom of the press should extend to WikiLeaks.