"Julian Assange is free": WikiLeaks founder strikes plea deal with U.S.

Why it matters: The deal concludes a years-long legal battle and international spectacle over Assange's imprisonment and handling of security secrets.

• The Australian-born Assange had faced life in prison if convicted of 18 criminal counts in the U.S. under the Espionage Act, as well as conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.
• However, President Biden said in April he was considering an Australian government request for the U.S. to end its effort to prosecute Assange and for him to return to his home country.

What we're watching: Assange is set to appear before a federal judge who must approve his guilty plea in Saipan, in the Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth, on Wednesday morning local time, per a Justice Department letter.

• He's expected to return to Australia after his plea and sentencing, AP reports.

The big picture: Assange was arrested in 2019 after leaving London's Ecuadorian Embassy following a seven-year stay there that ended when the country withdrew its offer of asylum. He has been in custody in the U.K. ever since.

• Assange has long argued he was acting as a journalist when he published on WikiLeaks U.S. government documents on Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Australia's Parliament passed a motion in February calling for Assange to return home, saying the case against him had gone on for too long.
• When asked to comment on Australia's diplomatic efforts, the State Department referred Axios to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.
• The Australian government did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.

Go deeper: Ex-CIA hacker who leaked secrets to WikiLeaks gets 40 years in prison

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.