Israeli linked to AIPAC probe to leave post

[not systems]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/573046.html

By Nathan Guttman

WASHINGTON - Naor Gilon, the head of the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, whose name has been linked to the Pentagon analyst charged with passing classified information to unauthorized personnel, will leave his post during the summer.

According to reports from Israel, Gilon is the Israeli representative who received classified information from two employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The AIPAC officials allegedly received the information during conversations with Larry Franklin, the Pentagon analyst who was charged by the FBI on Wednesday.

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Sources close to AIPAC said yesterday, after charges were filed against Franklin, that the pro-Israel lobby itself was not the target of the FBI investigation. The implication of this claim is that the FBI had Franklin under surveillance, and AIPAC only became involved because of its employees' contacts with Franklin.

Franklin himself, who was freed on bail of $100,000, will next appear in court on May 27, for a preliminary hearing into his case. His lawyer, John Richards, said that his client would deny the charges against him and would prove his innocence in court. According to Richards, Franklin expects to be completely exonerated.