How The US And Assange Reached A Plea Deal - And What It Means

Map locating Saipan in northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the Pacific, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in court Wednesday morning local time (Credit: AFP)

After more than thirteen years in England, including five years spent in prison, Julian Assange pleaded guilty in the Northern Mariana Islands, a far-flung US territory in the Pacific, and walked out of court a free man.

The timing -- and location -- of the plea deal seemed to have come out of nowhere.