Virginia grand jury to submit the indictments/AIPAC

[cal04]

The U.S. Justice Department is expected to file indictments against two former senior American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffers - Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman - and, according to sources familiar with the affair, the charges will be subsumed under the Espionage Act.

A Virginia grand jury is now examining the evidence in the case, which involved receipt of classified defense information from Larry Franklin, a Pentagon official, and its transfer to the representative of a foreign country, Naor Gilon, of the Israeli embassy in Washington.Sources involved in the case confirmed that the Espionage Act is on the agenda. However, there is also the possibility that the Justice Department is raising the intention to use that law with the purpose of reaching a plea bargain concerning a lesser offense, albeit one that is still covered by anti-espionage legislation in the U.S.

Presumably, if indeed such an indictment is filed against two former top-level AIPAC staff members, then Gilon's name will come up, even though he is not a suspect. Israeli officials say he was never questioned in the affair. Gilon heads the political department at the embassy.

According to the sources, the grand jury will submit indictments in the coming weeks against Rosen, the former head of foreign policy for the lobbying organization, and against Weissman, who was responsible for the Iranian brief in AIPAC. The grand jury is expected to hand down its indictment against Franklin this week. He is suspected of handing over the classified information. That indictment is expected to be similar to the criminal complaint already filed by the FBI.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581788.html

[Roland99]

1. A good start but let's wait to see how the Admin. and the PNAC scuttles it

[not systems]

2. Justice Dept. to indict two AIPAC staffers under U.S. Espionage Act

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581817.html

By Nathan Guttman

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department is expected to file indictments against two former senior American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffers - Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman - and, according to sources familiar with the affair, the charges will be subsumed under the Espionage Act.

...
Franklin called Weissman and asked for a meeting to discuss an important subject. At the meeting, in a mall near the Pentagon, Franklin told Weissman that Iranian agents were trying to capture Israeli civilians working in the Kurdish area in northern Iraq. Around the same time there had been conflicting reports in Washington about an Israeli presence in Kurdish Iraq. Journalist Seymour Hersh of The New Yorker had written that Israelis were operating there, but Israel - and the Americans - denied it.

At the meeting, Franklin told Weissman that the information was classified. This is significant in terms of the investigation, since it prevents the AIPAC men from claiming in their defense that they did not know they were dealing with state secrets.

Weissman left the meeting and went straight to Rosen's AIPAC office at Capitol Hill. He said it was a matter of life or death, and that Israeli lives were in immediate danger. The two made three phone calls: to an administration official, to Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post, and to Gilon, at the embassy. Rosen told Gilon about the information and the Israeli official promised he would look into it. All those calls were wiretapped by the FBI and are part of the case against Rosen and Weissman.

...

[not systems]

4. This is the correct title for the story...

it certainly is interesting that so many kissed the ring
at this last weeks bomb Iran lobbying effort just as
charges are being filed.

[Last Lemming]

3. It seems that if is was going to be stopped by higher ups

it would have already--they were suposed to hand down indictments in Dec, then Jan, then it fell off the radar so most thought it had just been stiffled--my, my

Question---could this go any further? In one direction to --does my memory serve me--up to Douglas Feith--

And the other way--to 9/11

Why are they letting this go forward?

[mikehiggins]

5. They are letting this go forwards because it will fall off the radar

as soon as the Michael Jackson verdict comes in, or Brittany divorces her husband, or...

Tune in next week and see how much coverage in the MSM this story gets.

[Al-CIAda]

7. Question---could this go any further?

Oh, this should go MUCH further. Will it? remains...

Background info-

Cloak and Swagger
The Larry Franklin spy probe reveals an escalating fight over control of Iran policy.

By Laura Rozen and Jason Vest
Issue Date: 11.02.04
--
At the time the CBS report aired in late August -- incidentally, on the Friday evening before the opening of the Republican national convention -- custody of the Franklin investigation was being transferred from the head of the FBI counterintelligence unit, David Szady, to U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty, a Bush appointee, in Alexandria, Virginia, as the case moved to the grand-jury phase.

And then, in mid-September, news of the Franklin investigation went dark.

http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=8764

---

Disinfopedia-
Larry Franklin
From Disinfopedia


Lawrence (Larry) Franklin is an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency who works in the office of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith. He reports directly to Feith's deputy, William Luti and specializes in Iranian policy issues. <1>

Allegations of Espionage

On August 29th 2004, it was reported that Franklin is under investigation for allegedly spying for the state of Israel <4> (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040828_1405.html) <5> (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1093674510956) <6> (http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040828-020807-9421r.htm). According to an article in Haaretz, Franklin is not Jewish himself <7> (http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/470390.html).

Franklin allegedley offered highly classified draft documents regarding the United States policy towards Iran to two members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The two AIPAC Iran analysts, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, have retained a well known criminal defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, for counsel.<8> (http://daily.nysun.com/Repository/getmailfiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:ArticleToMail&Type=text/html&Path=NYS/2004/09/02&ID=Ar01300)

Attorney General John Ashcroft assigned highly partisan Republican U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty to the espionage case. Charges of espionage were expected to be downgraded to charges of mishandling classified information.

Franklin's security clearance was revoked in June 2004.


Secret Meetings with Iran-Contra Arms Dealers

Beginning in 2001, Franklin and Harold Rhode (Feith's top specialist on the Middle East) held secret meetings in Rome with Iran-Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar. These meetings were arranged by longtime Republican operative Michael Ledeen.

The Washington Monthly (http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0410.marshallrozen.html) claimed the intent of these meetings was clear: "regime change" in Iran:

"The DoD-Ghorbanifar meetings suggest the possibility that a rogue faction at the Pentagon was trying to work outside normal US foreign policy channels to advance a "regime change" agenda not approved by the president's foreign policy principals or even the president himself."

"According to U.S. government sources, both the State Department and the CIA eventually brought the matter to the attention of the White House -- specifically, to Condoleezza Rice's chief deputy on the National Security Council, Stephen J. Hadley...Hadley sent word to the officials in Feith's office and to Ledeen to cease all such activities.

An anonymous senior administration official quoted by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service (http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=94701) said that the immediate objective of the Pentagon hawks appeared to be to "antagonise Iran so that they get frustrated and then by their reactions harden U.S. policy against them."
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Larry_Franklin
---
FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case
(CBS) CBS News has learned that the FBI has a full-fledged espionage investigation under way and is about to -- in FBI terminology -- "roll up" someone agents believe has been spying not for an enemy, but for Israel from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/27/eveningnews/main639143.shtml

----

Analysis: More Being Learned About Larry Franklin, Suspected Spy For Israel
Morning Edition: September 3, 2004

Chalabi Linked to Pentagon Leak Probe
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Now in this country, we're learning more about a suspected spy for Israel at the Pentagon. Since word leaked out about him, we've learned the man's name, Larry Franklin, and a bit more about his work as a mid-level analyst on the Pentagon's Iran desk. Now there are growing indications that the FBI probe is actually much wider than just Franklin and that it's been going on for at least two years. NPR's Mary Louis Kelly is following all this and has an update on the investigation.

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/transcripts/2004/sep/040903.kelly.html

======

[not systems]

6. Ex-Analyst Faces New Federal Charges -- Document details here

http://www.wtrf.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=3014

An Eastern Panhandle man is accused of keeping classified documents in his home.

Story by Juliet A. Terry

Lawrence Anthony Franklin, 58, who already has been accused of illegally disclosing military secrets, now is facing charges for unlawfully housing 83 top-secret or classified federal government documents at his Kearneysville home.

...
Of the 83 documents, approximately 38 were classified as top secret, 37 were considered secret and eight were classified as confidential.

Nine of the documents were found on computer disks. The documents spanned three decades.

The criminal complaint was based in part on the following six documents:

* Terrorist Threat Integration Center, terrorism situation report -- top secret/sensitive compartmented information (SCI), dated June 8, 2004.
* Central Intelligence Agency document concerning Al-Qaida -- top secret/SCI, dated June 9, 2004.
* CIA document concerning Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida -- secret/SCI, dated Oct. 7, 2003.
* CIA document concerning Al-Qaida -- secret, dated May 12, 2004.
* CIA memorandum on Iraq -- secret, dated June 4, 2004.
* CIA defense executive intelligence view concerning terrorists -- secret, dated June 10, 2004.

...

[Al-CIAda]

8. AIPAC Spy Case involves Intelligence on Iranian WMD

Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.?
Published: 12/12/01 FOX News.
These items have since been removed from the FOX News web site:
BRIT HUME, HOST: It has been more than 16 years since a civilian working for the Navy was charged with passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but later took responsibility for his work. 

Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators believe that there are Israelis again very much engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have known things they didn't tell us before September 11. Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the first of a four-part series. 

PART 1-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7545.htm
PART 2-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7544.htm
PART 3-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6480.htm
PART 4-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5133.htm

----------------
Carl Cameron Reports
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
What did the Mossad know in advance about September 11 (and not pass on to USA allies?)
Transcript of 4 part series-
http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/01/12/Israelis/spies1.html

----------------
AIPAC Spy Case involves Intelligence on Iranian WMD

Juan Cole

09/06/04 -- James Gordon Meek reports that both FBI investigations of leaks from the Pentagon concern in part secret US intelligence on Iranian weapons of mass destruction programs. The FBI suspects that this intelligence was leaked to AIPAC and the Israelis on the one hand, and to Ahmad Chalabi on the other. Chalabi in turn is suspected of passing the information on to Tehran, playing the role of double agent. Although the FBI seems to be keeping the two inquiries separate, there is strong circumstantial evidence that there was a behind-the-scenes connection between Chalabi and the Israelis. That is, the information circuit may have been ingrown among the Neoconservatives, the Israelis and Chalabi's people.

It should be noted that Chalabi, the Neoconservatives, and Israel's Likud Party were allied in wanting to get up a US war against Iraq. But they were divided on the next stage, which was to get Washington to attack Iran, as well. Chalabi hates Saddam, but as an Iraqi Shiite has strong ties to Tehran, so he was not actually on board with Stage Two, and may have helped derail it, for which he is now hated in some Neoconservative circles.
Con't-
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article6869.htm
------------

Crazy Like a Fox
Neocons go bananas over AIPAC spy scandal, but there's a method to their madness
by Justin Raimondo

...Anonymous," a currently serving CIA analyst, writes:"One can only react to this stunning reality by giving all praise to Israel's diplomats, politicians, intelligence services, U.S.-citizen spies, and the retired senior U.S. officials and wealthy Jewish-American organizations who lobby an always amenable Congress on Israel's behalf. In an astounding and historically unprecedented manner, the Israelis have succeeded in lacing tight the ropes binding the American Gulliver to the tiny Jewish state and its policies; as Anatol Lieven has written, the Israelis have been so successful that Israeli nationalism 'for many Americans has become deeply entwined with their American nationalism.'"
http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3583
------------
Leak Inquiry Includes Iran Experts in Administration
FBI counterintelligence investigators have in recent weeks questioned current and former U.S. officials about whether a small group of Iran specialists at the Pentagon and in Vice President Cheney's office may have been involved in passing classified information to an Iraqi politician or a U.S. lobbying group allied with Israel, according to sources familiar with or involved in the case.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60497-2004Sep3.html?nav=rss_nation
------------------
If you have watched the 4 part series, the following "art student' cover can be put in context-

The Israeli "art student" mystery
For almost two years, hundreds of young Israelis falsely claiming to be art students haunted federal offices -- in particular, the DEA. No one knows why -- and no one seems to want to find out.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/05/07/students/index_np.html

--------
Fri Sep 17,2004
LOS ANGELES Thirteen people are facing federal drug charges in Los Angeles for allegedly taking part in a cross-continent Ecstasy smuggling ring.
Investigators say about 300-thousand doses of the club drug -- with a street value of nearly seven (m) million dollars -- were seized in raids over a two-year period.

Dubbed Operation Money Man, prosecutors say the investigation of the European ring began when U-S immigration agents learned that a group of mostly Israeli nationals were selling Ecstasy in the L-A area.

Authorities say the ring shipped more than seven (m) million Ecstasy tablets from the Czech republic to the United States, Australia, Poland and Russia over the past year.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press.

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=2312570

[autorank]

9. This trial will not be delayed! The VA Federal Court is very efficient.

We'll see this sucker up and running soon. They pride themselves in access to court in your lifetime. Just think of all you know about California state courts and reverse it.

I'm happy because this story is huge. A full, public trial on an issue of great importance.

[pie]

10. Hope you're right

[Zhade]

11. Kick

Kick

[JohnyCanuck]

12. hy Did Feith Resign?

Why Did Feith Resign?

Could it have had something to do with the Larry Franklin spy scandal?
by Justin Raimondo

<snip>

We have to ask: On whose behalf was Franklin storing a "terrorism situation report" labeled "SCI" – the second highest category of classified information, several degrees above "classified," "secret," and "top secret" – and, even more intriguingly, where did he get it?

The resignation of Defense Undersecretary for Policy Douglas Feith, Franklin's boss, as investigators close in on the Israeli spy nest embedded in his department now has to be seen in a new light. As Professor Juan Cole pointed out back in January, when Feith's departure was announced:

"Feith has been questioned by the FBI in relation to the passing by one of his employees of confidential Pentagon documents to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which in turn passed them to the Israeli embassy. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also investigating Feith. There seems little doubt that he operated in the Pentagon in such a way as to produce false and misleading 'intelligence,' that he created an entirely false impression of Iraqi weapons capabilities and ties to al-Qaeda, and that he is among the chief facilitators of the US war in Iraq.

"Feith is clearly resigning ahead of the possible breaking of major scandals concerning his tenure at the Department of Defense, which is among the more disgraceful cases of the misleading of the American people in American history."

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=6137

[Al-CIAda]

13. .

[Al-CIAda]

14. .