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Guilty: former Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin
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| By Associated Press October 6, 2005 |
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A top U.S. Defense Department analyst who pleaded guilty to giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat and members of a pro-Israel lobbying group said he was frustrated by government policy and received more information than he disclosed.
Lawrence A. Franklin, 58, a policy analyst whose expertise included Iran and Iraq, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three felony counts in U.S. District Court as part of a plea bargain.
He faces up to 25 years of prison when he is sentenced Jan. 20.
Franklin said during the plea hearing that he was frustrated with a government policy,which he did not specify, so he leaked classified information to two members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee with the hope that they would provide the information to their contacts on the National Security Council and possibly get the policy changed.
"It was never my intent to harm the United States, not even for a second," Franklin said.
He also admitted giving classified information to Naor Gilon, a political officer at the Israeli embassy, but said the information he received from Gilon was more valuable than what he gave.
"I knew in my heart that his government had this information," Franklin said. "He gave me far more information than I gave him."
In court documents, prosecutors did not mention Gilon by name, but said he and Franklin discussed classified information on numerous occasions, including about a weapons test conducted by a Middle Eastern country.
Franklin at one time worked for the Pentagon's No. 3 official, policy undersecretary Douglas Feith, on issues involving Iran and the Middle East.
During Wednesday's hearing, Franklin said he would occasionally be questioned directly by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former top Pentagon official Paul Wolfowitz on policy issues. As a result, Franklin said, he sometimes took classified information home with him to stay up to speed. One of the charges to which he pleaded guilty was unlawful retention of classified national defense information.
An unusual exchange occurred late in the Wednesday hearing.
Prosecutors told the judge that a one-page document faxed by Franklin to an AIPAC lobbyist was among the classified information. Franklin disputed that, and started to explain that the document was an unclassified "list of murders the Iranian government ..." before he was cut off by prosecutors who said he was about to disclose classified information in open court.
Prosecutor Neil Hammerstrom said the document in question was indeed classified and the judge agreed to place that small portion of the court transcript under seal.
The two AIPAC officials who allegedly received the information, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, also have been charged with conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. defense information.
AIPAC fired Rosen and Weissman in April and says it has cooperated with the investigation.
The Israeli embassy said Wednesday in a statement: "We have full confidence in our diplomats, who are dedicated professionals and conduct themselves in accord with established diplomatic practices."
A senior Israeli official said Thursday that Israel had not known about Franklin's activities.
"I say very clearly that Israel is not spying in the United States or against the United States," said Yuval Steinitz, chairman of the Israeli parliaments Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee in an interview broadcast by Israel Army Radio. "The conviction doesn't accuse Israel of activating Franklin or tempting him."
Steinitz said he had just returned from "very friendly" meetings with senior U.S. defense officials in the United States, including a deputy to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. The Franklin case did not come up in the meetings, Steinitz said.
Franklin admitted during Wednesday's hearing that he met periodically with Rosen and Weissman between 2002 and 2004 and discussed classified information, including about potential attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Rosen and Weissman would then share what they learned with reporters and Israeli officials.
Franklin also admitted leaking top-secret information about two unidentified Middle Eastern officials to the media.
Rosen, a top lobbyist for Washington-based AIPAC for more than 20 years, and Weissman, the organization's top Iran expert, allegedly disclosed sensitive information as far back as 1999 on a variety of topics, including al-Qaida, terrorist activities in Central Asia, the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia and U.S. policy in Iran, according to the indictment.
As part of Franklin's plea agreement, he agreed to testify if needed at the upcoming trial of Rosen and Weissman and to refrain from any media interviews for at least three years after he finishes serving any prison sentence. After that, he would have to have any interviews cleared in advance by the Defense Department.
Rosen's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Wednesday in a statement that he does not think Franklin's plea deal will affect Rosen's case.
"A government employee's actions in dealing with classified information is simply not the same as a private person, whether that person is a reporter or a lobbyist," Lowell said.
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