The settlement reached to resolve the long-running legal saga of Julian Assange has one crucial aspect that, from my standpoint as the serving US Director of National Intelligence from 2010–17, is worth emphasising: his pleading guilty to one criminal count.
For many in the US intelligence and law enforcement communities, this condition is what made this legal arrangement even minimally palatable. There are those in the United States – most notably former Vice President Pence – who take strong issue with this arrangement as completely inadequate.
What Assange did in the name of transparency was wrong.
Harbour no illusions: What Assange did in the name of transparency was wrong, illegal, potentially jeopardised people’s lives and probably compromised intelligence sources and methods. Accordingly, a legitimate, duly constituted grand jury appropriately indicted him with 18 counts of violations of the Espionage Act.
Because of his resistance to extradition to the United States, he sought political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he remained until he wore out his welcome after seven years, and then spent over five years in a London high security prison under “hard” conditions.
So, in my personal view, justice has been served, and an irritant affecting relations with Australia – one of our closest, most important allies – has been resolved.
