WikiLeaks founder to plead guilty in deal with Justice Department

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to one charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose national defense information, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Post and another court filing. Assange has been in prison outside London for the last five years. He previously faced 18 charges related to one of the biggest classified documents disclosures in American history.

What does the deal entail? Assange will travel to the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands where the court will hold a hearing at which he is expected to plead guilty. The Justice Department noted in the letter published by the Washington Post that Assange did not want to return to the continental United States and that they expected he would return to Australia, which is near the Mariana Islands, after the proceedings.