DOJ: AIPAC case witness was asked to 'fake...suicide'

[mod mom]

DOJ: AIPAC case witness was asked to 'fake...suicide'

Two people asked a Pentagon official cooperating with prosecutors in an investigation into the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to fake his own death to avoid testifying against two pro-Israel lobbyists charged in the case, according to the Justice Department.

Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin pled guilty in October 2005 to participating in a conspiracy with AIPAC officials Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman to obtain and distribute classified information. The Justice Department dropped the case against Rosen and Weissman last month as a trial approached.

"Just prior to the entry of his guilty plea, Franklin was approached by two individuals who made a pitch to Franklin about faking his death by suicide and disappearing, thus thwarting any cooperation in the case against Rosen and Weissman," prosecutors wrote in a brief filed in connection with a motion to reduce the 12-year prison term Franklin was originally sentenced to.

"In January 2006, Franklin conducted five consensually recorded telephone conversations with one of these individuals, in support of an obstruction of justice/witness tampering investigation; however, the FBI was unable to obtain the requisite incriminating evidence to support a criminal investigation," the Justice Department brief said.

Lawyers for Franklin also cited his report of the apparent tampering effort as part of their arguments for reducing Franklin's sentence. The government recommended lowering Franklin's sentence to about nine years imprisonment. Franklin's team asked for probation. Judge T.S. Ellis, who imposed the first 12-year prison term several years ago, re-sentenced Franklin to probation and 10 months home confinement.

-snip

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0609/DOJ_Aipac_case_witness_asked_to_fakesuicide.html

WTF?

[marmar]

1. Unreal......I wonder how deep this rabbit hole goes?

[mod mom]

3. I definitely would like to hear more detail on who did the tampering & why it resulted

in dismissal of the Rosen/ Weissman case and a leaner sentence for Franklin. Something doesn't pass the smell test here!

[H2O Man]

7. A large part of why

the DoJ was handcuffed was due to Judge Ellis's allowing the AIPAC defendants' attorneys to "greymail" the government. Ellis allowed the defense the ability to produce a wide range of highly secret intelligence information that really had nothing to do with the case .... and had it gone forward, Ellis was going to allow it to become a circus. In fact, Ellis worked as hard to defend the defendants as their defense attorneys.

In regard to how deep this case went, it had the potential -- if it went forward in the correct way -- to expose what forces within the US dictated our foreign policy during the Cheney administration. It would show why the US invaded Iraq (not WMD, of course), and how that was part of the longer-term plan to "replace" the government of Iran.

The case would have placed people, including Rice and Armitage, on that hot seat we call the "witness stand." It could have, and really should have, shed light upon the inter-related Bush-Cheney scandals, including the Plame and Niger forgeries scandals.

One of the better sources of information -- though it focused more on Plame -- is the 2-disc documentary by DUer Mike "Symbolman." Also, the infamous "Plame Threads" from 2004-05 contai some great documentation on the case.

[annabanana]

9. Thanks for the back story. It's hard to keep track of just how

thoroughly compromised that administration was. The fact that it isn't really "gone" is so disturbing. Until there are real investigations and prosecutions, the wounds will continue to fester.

[hootinholler]

11. So is there a case for impeachment?

Ellis needs to go, preferably to jail.

-Hoot

[mod mom]

12. Thank you H2O Man for this background.

[RandomThoughts]

2. Just a note to people: the use of suicide in any context is bad.

Really bad, and if someone who is dishonest, proven by asking you to deceive, ask you to fake suicide, how long after that event do you think it will take for them to make it real?

Suicide is dark side.

[dreamnightwind]

4. Makes me wonder...

about other so-called suicides. How many of them were faked to allow the person to escape to a new life, free of accountability? Or faked non-suicide deaths? Ken Lay? I'm sure there's a long list of such "deaths".

[elmaji]

5. suicide is a right

fake suicide is not

[Voice for Peace]

6. They offer to "help" you commit suicide, but the next thing you know, you're dead

and it looks like a suicide.

[tom_paine]

8. Gives us a window into the "end" of Ken Lay.

Do Bushies fake deaths to get their corrupt cronies safely away from the scene of their crimes (be they American, Israeli, or whatever)?

You betcha.

I hope Kenny Boy is enjoying his new life and new face...

[Festivito]

10. Wonder who'd be the lucky dead body. Takes money too.

Sure, they can cremate fast, but still, someone has to die and die on cue and then be cremated before DNA can be taken.

The suggestion here is very interesting.

[FLAprogressive]

13. Error: You've already recommended that thread.

[troubledamerican]

14. Oh no you DI'HINT

Attacking AIPAC on DU? That's ANTI-SEMITIC

[Matariki]

15. Wonder who these 'two individuals' are - and if they know where Ken Lay is...

perhaps someone is running a service for wealthy people in trouble :shrug: