Posted on 08/04/2005 6:02:39 PM PDT by Maceman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For further information contact Alexandria, Virginia Sam Dibbley 703-842-4050 August 4, 2005
Paul McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that Lawrence Anthony Franklin, age 58, of Kearneysville, WV; Steven J. Rosen, age 63, of Silver Spring, MD; and Keith Weissman, age 53, of Bethesda, MD, were indicted today by a federal grand jury sitting in Alexandria with Conspiracy to Communicate National Defense Information to Persons Not Entitled to Receive It.
The indictment alleges that beginning in April of 1999, Rosen, the Director of Foreign Policy Issues for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, D.C., and Weissman, the Senior Middle East Analyst in the Foreign Policy Issues Department at AIPAC, in an effort to influence persons within and outside the United States government, would use their contacts within the United States government, including Franklin, with whom they first met in February 2003, to gather sensitive United States government information, including classified information relating to the national defense, for subsequent unlawful communication, delivery and transmission to persons not entitled to receive it, including members of the media and foreign government officials.
Franklin was also charged with three counts of Communication of National Defense Information to Persons Not Entitled to Receive It. In one of those counts, Rosen was charged with aiding and abetting him in the unlawful disclosure.
Finally, Franklin was charged with conspiring with persons known and unknown to the grand jury to communicate classified information to an agent or representative of a foreign government. It is alleged that Franklin would use his position as a desk officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense to gather information, classified as affecting the security of the United States, for subsequent unlawful communication to a foreign official.
Mr. McNulty stated: “When it comes to classified information, there is a clear line in the law. Today's charges are about crossing that line. Those entrusted with safeguarding our nation's secrets must remain faithful to that trust. Those not authorized to receive classified information must resist the temptation to acquire it, no matter what their motivation may be.” >{?This case was investigated by the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin DiGregory and Neil Hammerstrom, and Thomas Reilly, Trial Attorney, the Counterespionage Section of the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice.
During Clinton's term.
Well, lets do a comparison with the Burgler....Think they'll get overnight in jail? /sarc
It's still Rove's fault.
Probation and security clearance given back in 3 years, probably. Outrageous that Sandy Berger was given such a light sentence.
I've seen some freepers say it was probably in exchange for providing information. Even IF that is the case (and I rather doubt it), Berger is lucky he wasn't given a life sentence, imo.
newsmax:blood pressure alert
Sunday, July 31, 2005 9:30 p.m. EDT
Sandy Berger Blasts Bush for Security Failure
Convicted 9/11 Commission document thief Sandy Berger is blasting the Bush administration for failing to bring security to Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein.
As co-chair of a Council on Foreign Relations task force on the Iraq war, Berger and his colleagues are complaining that the U.S.'s failure to prepare for the period after the war had given "early impetus for the insurgency," according to quotes picked up by Reuters.
Story Continues Below
Despite pleading guilty in April to destroying top secret terrorism documents related to the 9/11 investigation, the former Clinton administration national security advisor was tapped to head up the CFR panel along with former Bush 41 National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft.
In a written report released last week, the Berger-Scowcroft panel concluded:
"The critical miscalculation of Iraq war-planning was that the stabilization and reconstruction mission would require no more forces than the invasion itself."
Berger and his colleagues cited the Bush administration's "inattention" and "misjudgments" as key reasons for the post-war security failure.
"Pre-war inattention to post-war requirements – or simply misjudgments about them – left the United States ill-equipped to address public security, governance and economic demands in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, seriously undermining key U.S. foreign policy goals."
Despite the seriousness of his crime, Justice Department prosecutors have recommended that Berger serve no jail time, and instead pay only a $10,000 fine and surrender his security clearance for three years.
His sentence is scheduled to be set by D.C. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson in September.
If the average joe with any type of clearance were to compromise classified info this way, they'd be run out on a rail no questions asked.
Who says we don't have a caste system in America?
I picked up on that, too.
They'll flip and testify for sure.
I shouldn't even post on a thread where Sandy Berger's extremely light sentence is being discussed. Because it makes my blood pressure go kafloowee. LOL
And that thread also has a whiff "The Jooooooooooos!" glee about it.
So Larry Frnaklin could be looking at the death penalty if found guilty of these crimes???
Sandy Burglar is a DUmmie poster child. He represents what's wrong with them and they are so blind they don't even see it.
That about sums up every initiative the dems champion... LOL
Dear DU Reader:
There is nothing here to see.
a) This occurred during the Clinton's term before Rove got there.
b) The men indicted are all alleged Democrats.
c) Please bathe and get a job. Move out of your parents basement and put down the bongs.
It's odd how they flip out and think "This is it!" over pretty much every little crumb they get.
I thought it said the contact began in Feb. '03?
The men indicted are all alleged Democrats.
Really? I didn't know that. Have the DUmmies been alerted so they can start their backpedalling?
The last I heard the Sentencing was postponed until October I believe.
Not just yet. They are a desperate lot over there.
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