Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, agreed to plead guilty on Monday to a single felony count of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material in exchange for his release from a British prison, ending his long and bitter standoff with the United States.
Mr. Assange, 52, was granted his request to appear before a federal judge at one of the more remote outposts of the federal judiciary, the courthouse in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, according to a brief court filing made public late Monday.
It was a fitting final twist in the case against Mr. Assange, who doggedly opposed extradition to the U.S. mainland.
The islands are a United States commonwealth in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — and much closer to Mr. Assange’s native Australia, where he is a citizen, than courts in the continental United States or Hawaii.
Shortly after the deal was disclosed, WikiLeaks said that Mr. Assange had left London.
Persons:
Julian Assange, Assange, doggedly, ” Matthew J, McKenzie
Organizations:
WikiLeaks, United, Australia “, Justice
Locations:
United States, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Britain, U.S, Assange’s, Australia, Hawaii, London