It’s been almost 14 years since Julian Assange started leaking the largest tranche of American military and government secrets to the world.

For most of that time, the Wikileaks founder has been fighting extradition to the United States, where he faces a possible sentence of 175 years in jail, for crimes under the espionage act.

But that struggle has reached a critical juncture. Because the High Court in London will decide, in a hearing being held today and tomorrow, whether Assange will be sent to the United States to face trial.

Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe, on the “diplomatic cliff” that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is having to navigate, in order to bring an Australian citizen home.