The US State Department says its involvement in the resolution of Julian Assange's case was very limited but a department representative has reiterated the US government's position that the WikiLeaks founder's actions had put lives at risk. or signup to continue reading The State Department spokesperson was asked by reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday to give examples of harm caused by the WikiLeaks releases but did not provide any. Assange landed to an ecstatic welcome at Canberra Airport on Wednesday evening after pleading guilty to violating US espionage law in a deal that sets him free from a 14-year legal battle.
Chief US District Judge Ramona V Manglona in the US territory of Saipan accepted Assange's guilty plea on Wednesday. Assange had agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count, according to filings in the US District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. While the US has often called Assange's actions reckless and claimed they put its agents at risk of harm, the judge noted on Wednesday that the United States could not identify any personal victim from them.
Assange's supporters say he is a hero who was victimised because he exposed US wrongdoing and alleged war crimes, including in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2010 publications of documents. "The State Department did an extraordinary amount of work when we found out that these cables were going to be published to get people out of harm's way ..
. and take action so people that would be pu.