3 Indicted for Classified Leak

U.S. Department of Justice ^ | August 4, 2005 | Paul J. McNulty, Eastern District of Virginia

[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.

[steveegg]

The DUmmies are going nuts over this.

I wouldn't go nuts over this if I were them. According to the dossier the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies has on him, Franklin has been with the Pentagon since 1979. Further, his security clearance was suspended on June 30, 2004, the day the FBI first interviewed him.

[Darkwolf377]

Gee, that didn't last long--if you go over there now they ain't crowin' so loud.

Also they link to this unparalleled news "source"

http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/1054

...which I've never heard of.

I am thinking the dancing at DU is about to be rpelaced by their usual frowns. :) I mean :(

[DBeers]

LOL

[BlackRain]

The reasons for the iron lock AIPAC has on US congressional Middle East policy is covered by Eric Fleischauer of the Decatur Daily. http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/040905/davis.shtml He writes: ' Members of a lobbying group accused of channeling classified information from an alleged spy in the Pentagon to the Israeli government were instrumental in putting an Alabama congressman in office. A probe by the FBI targeted Larry Franklin, a senior analyst in a Pentagon office dealing with Middle East af-fairs. Officials accused him of providing classified information about Iran's nuclear program to two officials employed by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee . . . The major beneficiary of pro-Israel campaign contributions in this state has been U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, DEMOCRAT-Birmingham. According to an estimate by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, Davis received $206,595 in pro-Israel contributions in advance of the 2002 election. This despite the fact he was not an incumbent, and despite the fact his five-term incumbent opponent, Earl Hilliard, was also a Democrat. Even under the conservative CRP estimate, Davis' 2002 pro-Israel receipts were more than double his total contributions from his previous try at Hilliard's seat, in 2000. Seventy-six percent of Davis' contributions during the 2002 election cycle came from outside Alabama, most from New York City. ----------- Carl Levin (D-Michigan); Tom Harkin (D- Iowa); Tom Daschle (D - South Dakota); Frank Lautenberg (D - New Jersey); Arlen Spector (R - Pennsylvania); Mitch McConnell (R - Kentucky); Richard Durbin (D - Illinois); Max Baucus (D - Montana); Jeff Bingaman (D - New Mexico); Charles Robb (D - Virginia); Kent Conrad (D - North Dakota); Byron Dorgan (D - North Dakota); Tim Johnson (D - South Dakota); Sam Gejdenson (D - Connecticut); Richard Gephardt (D - Missouri); Ronald Wyden (D - Oregon); Shelley Berkley (D - Nevada); David Obey (D - Wisconsin); Frost Martin (D - Texas); Thomas Delay (R - Texas); Eliot Engel (D - New York); Sander Levin (D - Michigan); Nita Lowey (D - New York); Benjamin Gilman (R - New York); Lane Evans (D - Illinois), et cetera. The reason -- these people, listed above, are some of the current golden boys of the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) -

[DBeers]

It's odd how they flip out and think "This is it!" over pretty much every little crumb they get.

Like lemings always assuming greener grass just beyond the next cliff...

[Darkwolf377]

Gee, got awful quiet over at DU all of a sudden. Maybe they actually read the article?

[Raycpa]

This is obviously concocted by Rove to distract attention from him. And yes, it is Bush's fault. It happened , therefore its his fault.

[steveegg]

Like lemings always assuming greener grass just beyond the next cliff...

I just had a great visual :-)

[FreedomPoster]

LOL! Nicely done.

[Cinnamon]

dummies are having orgasms over this... do they realize this happened during Clinton's Presidency?

[montag813]

Sandy Berger Blasts Bush for Security Failure

First salvo in the 2008 Wars. And thanks to Bush's DoJ wrist-slap, from a potential future Secretary of State, when he should have been jailed and banned from government for life.

[Dagny Taggart]

Why aren't they pointing out that this all took place during the Clinton administration? Or is that just another little oops for the dems? Every now and then we adults have to go clean up after the children! That's the only reason this country has survived 'til now.
Dagny

[jern]

DU looks a lot like FreeRepublic circa 1998

[notigar]

What does it matter whose administration it happened under? National security information doesn't care who the President is. If they are guilty, give them a lot of time to think about it behind bars.

[Mo1]

Ping A Ling

[berkeleybeej]

"...with whom they first met in February 2003..."

FWIW - This situation began during the Clinton years and slopped over into the Bush years.

[Calpernia]

Wowsers!

Housecleaning pong!

[Mo1]

dummies are having orgasms over this... do they realize this happened during Clinton's Presidency?

I don't think so

[Darkwolf377]

The DUmmies somehow think this is connected to Bush. But it's funny how their posts on this have dwindled to a trickle.

BTW, this happened mostly after Clinton left office, not that that matters.

[PGalt]

Thanks...LOL...Thanks.