Julian Assange is going to face extradition to the US and finally leave the Ecuadorian embassy, Wikileaks has indicated.
Update: since this story was posted, Mr Assange's lawyer has suggested that the clemency granted to Chelsea Manning is unsatisfactory and he will not accept extradition. An updated story can be found here.
Mr Assange promised last week that, if Barack Obama granted clemency to Chelsea Manning, he would hand himself in and go to the US to face a court case. The outgoing US president used his final hours to free the former soldier, who was jailed for handing over classified documents to Wikileaks.
Wikileaks had tweeted last week: "If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ (Department of Justice) case." At that time such a pardon was thought unlikely, but the Obama administration announced last night that it would let Ms Manning go free nearly 30 years early.
Donald Trump's most controversial quotes
Donald Trump's most controversial quotes
1/18 On Mexicans
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.”
AFP/Getty Images
2/18 On Senator McCain
“He’s not a war hero... He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
Getty Images
3/18 On Megyn Kelly
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
AFP/Getty Images
4/18 On Vladimir Putin
“He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country.”
Getty Images
5/18 On his popularity
“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”
AFP/Getty Images
6/18 On torture
"I would bring back waterboarding and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding."
Getty Images
7/18 On his body
“Look at those hands, are they small hands? And, [Republican rival Marco Rubio] referred to my hands: ‘If they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”
AFP/Getty Images
8/18 On president Obama
“He is the founder of Isis.”
Getty Images
9/18 On the Second Amendment
"Hillary wants to abolish — essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."
AFP/Getty Images
10/18 On Hilary Clinton's emails
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”
AFP/Getty Images
11/18 On sexual assault
In a statement regarding the release of a 2005 video in which he can be heard boasting about sexual assault:
“This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course.”
Getty Images
12/18 On tax loopholes
"I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett, and so did George Soros and so did many people who Hillary is getting money from."
AFP/Getty Images
13/18 On his accuser
“Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.”
Getty Images
14/18 On Hillary Clinton
“Such a nasty woman”
Getty Images
15/18 On his pro-life stance
“Based on what she's saying ... you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day, and that's unacceptable”
Getty Images
16/18 On his accusers
"Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Getty Images
17/18 On the 'rigged' election system
“I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win.”
Getty Images
18/18 On Hillary Clinton
“I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Getty Images
1/18 On Mexicans
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.”
AFP/Getty Images
2/18 On Senator McCain
“He’s not a war hero... He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
Getty Images
3/18 On Megyn Kelly
“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.”
AFP/Getty Images
4/18 On Vladimir Putin
“He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader, unlike what we have in this country.”
Getty Images
5/18 On his popularity
“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”
AFP/Getty Images
6/18 On torture
"I would bring back waterboarding and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding."
Getty Images
7/18 On his body
“Look at those hands, are they small hands? And, [Republican rival Marco Rubio] referred to my hands: ‘If they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”
AFP/Getty Images
8/18 On president Obama
“He is the founder of Isis.”
Getty Images
9/18 On the Second Amendment
"Hillary wants to abolish — essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick, if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."
AFP/Getty Images
10/18 On Hilary Clinton's emails
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”
AFP/Getty Images
11/18 On sexual assault
In a statement regarding the release of a 2005 video in which he can be heard boasting about sexual assault:
“This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course.”
Getty Images
12/18 On tax loopholes
"I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett, and so did George Soros and so did many people who Hillary is getting money from."
AFP/Getty Images
13/18 On his accuser
“Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.”
Getty Images
14/18 On Hillary Clinton
“Such a nasty woman”
Getty Images
15/18 On his pro-life stance
“Based on what she's saying ... you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month, on the final day, and that's unacceptable”
Getty Images
16/18 On his accusers
"Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
Getty Images
17/18 On the 'rigged' election system
“I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election — if I win.”
Getty Images
18/18 On Hillary Clinton
“I hate to say it but if I win I'm going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation. There has never been so many lies, so much deception. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Getty Images
Melinda Taylor, a member of Mr Assange's legal team, insisted that those previous comments made about the implications of the Manning case still stand.
"Everything that he has said he's standing by," she said.
It remains unclear how Mr Assange will hand himself in and when such an arrangement will happen. It's also not entirely clear that an extradition agreement is actually in place, despite the comments.
The Wikileaks Twitter account, which is thought to be controlled by Mr Assange, did not respond to further questions from reporters about whether his lawyers' comment meant that he would be extradited.
Mr Assange has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since the summer of 2012. He argues that if he leaves he will be arrested in relation to allegations in Sweden, and then taken to the US.
He praised campaigners for their role in encouraging the Obama administration to grant clemency to Ms Manning.
"Thank you to everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning's clemency," he said. "Your courage & determination made the impossible possible."
Julian Assange questions Seth Rich death
Mr Assange was interviewed in the embassy in November in the presence of prosecutors from Sweden, where he faces a sex allegation. He denies the claims, but believes he faces extradition to the United States for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves the embassy.
Some have even suggested that Mr Trump may choose to pardon or look favourably on Julian Assange if he returns to the US. The President-elect has approvingly quoted comments from Mr Assange – though Mr Trump later said that the tweets didn't indicate the two were "in agreement", just that people should "make up their own minds".
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