At last, Julian Assange is free. But it may have come at a high price for press freedom | Trevor Timm

Instead of just dropping the case, the Biden administration got a guilty plea and set a dangerous tone for reporters everywhere

Julian Assange is on the verge of being set free after the WikiLeaks founder and US authorities have agreed to a surprising plea deal. While it should be a relief to anyone who cares about press freedom that Assange will not be coming to the US to face trial, the Biden administration should be ashamed at how this case has played out.

Assange is flying from the UK to a US territory in the Pacific Ocean to make a brief court appearance today, and soon after, he may officially be a free man in his native Australia.

Trevor Timm is executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation