@@ Two AIPAC terrorists ousted @@
Arash
April 21, 2005
Two Senior AIPAC Employees Ousted
FBI Investigating if Pair Gave Classified Information to Israel
Dan Eggen
Jerry Markon
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Two senior employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC) one of Washington's most influential lobbying
organizations, have left their jobs amid an FBI investigation into whether they passed
classified U.S. information to the government of Israel, a source close to the
organization said yesterday.
The source characterized the departures as firings.
Lawyers for the two men, policy director Steve Rosen and senior analyst Keith Weissman
(http://www.niacouncil.org/images/weisman3.jpg), released a statement strongly denying any
wrongdoing.
"Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman have not violated any U.S. law or AIPAC policy", said the
statement, issued by Abbe Lowell and John Nassikas. "Contrary to press accounts, they have
never solicited, received, or passed on any classified documents. They carried out their
job responsibilities solely to serve AIPAC's goal of strengthening the U.S.-Israel
relationship".
The attorneys declined through a spokesman to comment further. An AIPAC spokesman also
declined to discuss details, but disputed portions of the statement issued by the men's
attorneys.
"The statement made by Rosen and Weissman represents solely their view of the facts," said
AIPAC spokesman Patrick Dorton. "The action that AIPAC has taken was done in consultation
with counsel after careful consideration of recently learned information and the conduct
AIPAC expects of its employees."
The exit of Rosen and Weissman marks a dramatic about-face for AIPAC, which in previous
public statements has strongly defended the actions of all its employees as the FBI
conducted its probe.
The developments also come as federal prosecutors in Alexandria are considering filing
criminal charges in the case, according to two law enforcement officials. The probe
centers on whether a Defense Department policy analyst, Lawrence A. Franklin
(http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski91.html), provided a draft presidential
directive on Iran and other information to AIPAC, and whether AIPAC then passed the
material on to Israel, officials have said.
"Things are moving quickly", one of the officials said in a recent interview. "It is
definitely moving closer to some conclusions".
Lawrence (Larry) Franklin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Franklin) has been
cooperating with authorities at times but so far has not reached any agreement with
prosecutors, officials said. Franklin is now back working at the Defense Department, but
not in the Pentagon and without his previous security privileges, officials said.
Franklin's attorney, Plato Cacheris, did not return a telephone message left at his office
late yesterday.
The FBI raided AIPAC's offices in Washington twice last year, obtaining computer files and
serving grand jury subpoenas on four senior executives. The grand jury handling the case
sits in Alexandria.
AIPAC has demonstrated an ability to provide large amounts of campaign contributions to
congressional friends of Israel. In Fortune magazine's now-discontinued survey of groups
with clout in the capital, AIPAC regularly was ranked in the top five, along with AARP and
the National Rifle Association.
AIPAC and its affiliates also annually take members of Congress and their staffers on
tours of Israel, cementing relations between the leaders of both countries and ensuring
continued high levels of foreign assistance from the United States to Israel.
The brewing scandal at AIPAC has caused an uproar in the Jewish community, especially
among wealthy political donors. Many of the group's supporters fear that the turmoil could
undercut U.S. backing of Israel at a critical time for that nation.
Douglas Feith and Lawrence (Larry) Franklin
http://www.sw-asia.com/People/Bio918.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A6059-2005Apr20?language=printer