Pence slams Assange plea deal, says he should be prosecuted to 'fullest extent of the law'

Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange's plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department and said he should have been prosecuted to "the the fullest extent of the law" in a social media post Monday.

Federal court records revealed Assange agreed to plead guilty to violating the Espionage Act after releasing classified information about U.S. military misconduct in Afghanistan and Iraq. He became a martyr to some press freedom advocates while fighting extradition for years during a legal standoff with the U.S. government. But to his opponents, Assange is a "traitor" and "no journalist." Reacting to his plea deal Monday, Pence said Assange's work at WikiLeaks endangered American troops' lives during a time of war in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families," Pence said. "There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever."

Assange agreed to plea guilty to one felony count of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disclose classified national defense information, court records show. The deal ensures Assange will not be sentenced to additional detention time on top of the 62 months he already served in the United Kingdom.

In 2020, a lawyer for Assange said the Trump-Pence administration offered Assange a pardon if he agreed to say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 presidential campaign cycle. A White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump denied that claim.

Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @rachelbarber_