Assange may be offered plea deal to end suffering [Video]

News that Julian Assange may be offered a plea deal by the U.S. remains clouded in uncertainty, writes Dr Binoy Kampmark.

BE WARY OF what Washington offers in negotiations at the best of times. The empire gives and takes when it can; the hegemon proffers in equal measure and withdraws offers it deems fit. This is all well known to the legal team of WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange, who, the Wall Street Journal “exclusively” reveals, is in ongoing negotiations with U.S. Justice Department officials on a possible plea deal.

As things stand, the U.S. Department of Justice is determined to get its mitts on Assange on the dubious strength of 18 charges — 17 confected from the brutal Espionage Act of 1917. Any conviction from these charges risks a 175-year jail term, effectively constituting a “death sentence” for the Australian publisher. 

The wartime statute, which was intended to curb free …