Assange was charged with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information
He spent the last five years in a British prison, from where he was fighting extradition to the US
Assange will spend no time in US custody and will receive credit for the time spent incarcerated in the UK
The plea deal is expected to be finalised in a court in the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday
He is expected to return to Australia according to the US justice department
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said Assange is receiving diplomatic assistance ahead of his court appearance,
Residents in Sydney are reacting to the news that Julian Assange has left UK prison, with one saying he had "gone through hell", adding that he was "very happy [that Assange] is coming back to Australia".Another said that although he believed Assange had committed “very serious breaches”, he had "served his time".
Julian Assange’s guilty plea is expected to be finalised on Wednesday in a rather unique venue - a US district court in the Mariana Islands, a US territory in the south Pacific.
In a letter by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the implication is that Assange doesn’t trust coming to the US for his plea deal. It says he is unwilling to return voluntarily to the continental USA. Assange has a deep distrust of the US government, going so far as to accuse officials of allegedly plotting to kill him.
Also logistically the islands make sense because they are close enough to Australia. They are located about 2,000 miles (3,200km) away - and the DOJ says it expects him to return to his native country soon after he enters his plea deal.
Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie who have been leading a bipartisan group of politicians on Capital Hill pushing for Assange's release have put out statements.
“I don’t think Julian Assange broke espionage laws. I don’t think he should have been charged in the first place,” McGovern wrote on X, in response to today's news.
“I worry this plea deal sets a bad precedent. But I’m glad this ordeal is over so he can finally return to Australia to be with his family & focus on his health,” he added.
Massie described Assange’s “liberation” as “great news” but said “it’s a travesty that he’s already spent so much time in jail. Obama, Trump, & Biden should have never pursued this prosecution.”
Assange supporters around the world have started celebrating news of his potential release, but those close to him have cautiously noted that it's not a done deal until the judge in the Northern Mariana Islands signs off tomorrow.
In its statement earlier, WikiLeaks described the agreement as having "not yet been formally finalised."
And Assange's wife Stella has stressed that it's been difficult for his family to "plan or even play out the next few hours and days" given how quickly things are moving.
However the court filing concerning his case does indicate that Assange should be a free man soon, barring any last minute legal complications.To his supporters, Julian Assange is a valiant campaigner for truth. To his critics, he is a publicity seeker who has endangered lives by putting a mass of sensitive information into the public domain.
Assange was born in Townsville in the Australian state of Queensland in 1971 and first became a father at 18.
In 1995, he was accused of dozens of hacking activities. Assange eventually pleaded guilty - only escaping a jail term on the condition that he not reoffend.
He also dabbled in the world of academia - co-writing a bestselling book on the emerging, subversive side of the internet, before studying physics and maths.
Assange set up Wikileaks in 2006 - making headlines around the world four years later with its high-profile disclosures of classified US documents.
