US Ambassador to Australia Hints at Plea Deal for Julian Assange
US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy indicated in comments to the Sydney Morning Herald that Washington might be open to a plea deal for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that could keep him from being extradited and imprisoned in the United States for exposing US war crimes.
When asked if the US and Australia could reach a diplomatic solution on Assange, Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, told the paper that it was an “ongoing case” being handled by the US Justice Department. “So it’s not really a diplomatic issue, but I think that there absolutely could be a resolution,” she said.
The comments come as the Australian government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pressed the Biden administration on Assange. Secretary of State Antony Blinken rejected Australia’s concerns when he recently visited the country, claiming that Assange “was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country.”