@@ FBI after more jew-spies @@
Arash
May 14, 2005
F.B.I. Questions Journalists in Military Secrets Inquiry
By David Johnston
Washington -- Federal agents have begun asking reporters about any conversations they had
with a former Pentagon analyst who has been charged with illegally disclosing military
secrets, senior government officials said on Friday.
The interviews by the Federal Bureau of Investigation are starting with four reporters,
among them at least one newspaper journalist and others whose work has been published on
the Internet, the officials said. They would not identify any of the journalists and said
the number could increase.
The interviews represent the latest twist in a convoluted inquiry that appears to be
evolving from a spy case into a broader investigation into the possible disclosure of
classified information by the analyst, Lawrence A. Franklin
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Franklin).
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/images/franklin_1.jpg
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/05/05/national/05spy.184.jpg
http://story.news.yahoo.com/photo/050504/480/vakw10105042216/print
Lawrence (larry) Franklin
Part time lecturer of modern World
Department of History
Shepherd College
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Office: White Hall, room 316
email: lfrankli at shepherd.edu
Tel: 1-304-876-5329
The journalists whom the agents want to question wrote articles that investigators are
said to believe are based on classified information that Larry Franklin obtained while he
was working at the Defense Department. Investigators have searched news databases and
compiled the list of journalists based in part on that research.
So far, the reporters are being approached on a voluntary basis, which means they are
under no legal obligation to answer questions. But reporters could be subpoenaed by a
federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., that has been convened in the case.
The officials who disclosed the interviews have been briefed on the details of the
inquiry, but declined to be identified because much of the investigation is itself
classified.
The interviews are said to focus on questions about what Larry Franklin might have told
the journalists. Ordinarily, it is not illegal for a reporter to possess classified
information, but it could be a crime for a person with a security clearance to give such
information to anyone not authorized to receive it.
Last week, federal prosecutors charged Larry Franklin with disclosing highly classified
defense information about potential attacks on American forces in Iraq. The affidavit that
accompanied the charges hinted that journalists might fall under scrutiny in the case. It
said Franklin "knowingly disclosed, without authorization, classified U.S. government
information to a foreign official and members of the media"
(http://www.etherzone.com/2005/raim050605.shtml).
In addition, the complaint charged Larry Franklin with one count of passing the
information to two Americans who were not identified in the government's papers. But
government officials confirmed that the men were former staff members of the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC), a pro-Israel
lobbying group with close ties to the Bush administration.
Neither of the men, Steven Rosen, formerly director of foreign policy issues, or Keith
Weissman, formerly senior Middle East analyst, has been charged. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for
Steven Rosen, has said his client never received any classified documents from Larry
Franklin. Keith Weissman's lawyer, John N. Nassikas, has not discussed the case.
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/photos/uncategorized/weissman.jpg
Keith Weissman was an Iran analyst at AIPAC
The Jewish lobbying group, also known as AIPAC, initially defended Steven Rosen and Keith
Weissman. But last month it dismissed them for reasons that were unexplained, although it
is believed to be an effort to distance the organization from the investigation. Aipac
itself is not thought to have engaged in any wrongdoing, the officials said.
Larry Franklin is free on $100,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is set for May 27, but
officials said prosecutors were likely to indict him soon on multiple charges instead of
the single count in the initial complaint.
Plato Cacheris, a lawyer for Larry Franklin, would not discuss the case. But he said a
trial would show that "Mr. Franklin was, and is, a loyal American citizen".
Lawyers familiar with prosecution tactics said that an indictment against Franklin would
increase pressure on him to cooperate with the government's investigation of Steven Rosen
and Keith Weissman.
At one point last summer, Larry Franklin had agreed to help the government with the
investigation before ending his cooperation when it became evident that prosecutors wanted
to charge him with a crime. During that time, he made several telephone calls to possible
subjects in the case, including one to Keith Weissman, according to people who have been
officially briefed on the case. The call was surreptitiously monitored and recorded by
F.B.I. agents.
In the conversation with Keith Weissman, Larry Franklin said he had learned that Iran was
seeking to encourage or engage in attacks against Israelis in northern Iraq, people who
have been officially briefed on the case said. They said that Keith Weissman told Steven
Rosen of the conversation and that the two men are believed to have passed the information
to an Israeli official who was an intelligence officer. It is not clear whether the
information was based on actual information or was fabricated to lure the two AIPAC
officials into incriminating themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/14/politics/14inquire.html?ex=1116734400&en=af75c8eaaa980e59&ei=5070