Pollard To Be Released

In some ways the dispute continues. The White House dismisses that prospect, saying Pollard had committed “very serious crimes” and would serve his sentence under the law.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the news that he would be released.

Pollard, who has spent 30 years in jail, is due to be released in November as per the decision of a federal parole board. Second, contrary to claims by Pollard’s supporters, his punishment has been completely justified; he ranks as one of the 20th century’s most appalling American spies.

“He took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and he failed it”, said M.E. “Spike” Bowman, a former FBI deputy general counsel. So they gave Hersh a lot of material-much more than anyone had yet made public-on what Pollard had done. “I’m glad that it was an ally rather than the Russians, but what he did makes absolutely no difference”. Portions of the Weinberger document that have been declassified state in part that Pollard admitted passing to his Israeli contacts “an incredibly large quantity of classified documents” and that U.S. troops could be endangered because of the theft. He was caught sharing intelligence files with the Israeli government. Clinton told Netanyahu there was no chance that Pollard would be released soon.

The news of Pollard’s imminent release surfaces amid friction between the Obama administration and Israel over the Iran nuclear agreement and other issues.

But the Jonathan Pollard sentenced to life in prison nearly 30 years ago was not what some might describe as a normal person.

I wonder if the Iran nuke deal had anything to do with his early release?

MONTAGNE: How is his release being viewed in Israel?

Israeli citizens have protested Pollard’s imprisonment for decades, and Israel leaders have regularly lobbied U.S. presidents for his release. He was presumptively entitled to parole provided he had a record of good behavior in prison and was seen as unlikely to commit future crimes once released. His attorneys said they have already secured him accommodation in New York City. Israeli media reported that Pollard would not be able to travel overseas for five years after his release.

“If the professional diplomats and intelligence officials do decide to release Pollard to Israel”, he said, “in my opinion, it should only be on the condition that Israel agrees to keep him and will not try to send him back”.

“Thanks to God almighty, my beloved husband Jonathan Pollard is completing 30 long hard years of incarceration in the U.S.”, Esther Pollard said Wednesday.

“Although Pollard earned a 3.5 grade point average as a Stanford undergraduate from 1972-76, former student acquaintances told investigators that he bragged about his role as a Mossad agent and, on one occasion, waved a pistol in the air and screamed that everyone was out to get him.”

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Mr. Pollard was an intelligence analyst at the Navy when he was arrested in 1985 on charges he passed suitcases full of classified documents to Israeli handlers. U.S. presidents have never budged on the matter, despite their otherwise warm relationships with Israel.

“There is no proof he harmed the security of the United States”.

“We look forward to seeing our client on the outside in less than four months”, lawyers Eliot Lauer and Jacques Semmelman said in a joint statement.