Haaretz
August 30, 2004
WASHINGTON - The U.S. administration believes
that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will refrain from charging
suspected Pentagon mole Larry Franklin with espionage, American media said
yesterday. The FBI apparently lacks any evidence that the Pentagon data
analyst was operated by either Israel or the American Israel Public
Affairs Commitee (AIPAC).
Franklin, an analyst in the Pentagon's
Near East and South Asia Bureau, could be charged with mishandling a
classified document. However, the FBI has yet to make an official
pronouncement on whether Franklin will be arrested and what charges he
might face. Nevertheless, investigators are broadening their probe and
interviewing figures at the Defense Department, the State Department and
outside the administration.
The investigation currently centers on
a single document relating to a discussion held by senior administration
officials about U.S. policy on Iran. Franklin is suspected of handing the
document - which was classified - to AIPAC, which conveyed the document or
its contents to Israeli government representatives.
In its latest
edition, Newsweek magazine claims that the FBI began investigating
Franklin after tailing an Israeli embassy official in Washington who met
an AIPAC representative for lunch. Franklin reportedly approached their
table and engaged in a warm conversation with them. The magazine also said
Franklin was once posted at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv when he served in
the U.S. Air Force Reserve. The magazine said FBI counterintelligence
agents were following Franklin when they saw him attempt to pass a
classified policy document on Iran to an unnamed surveillance
target.
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Franklin may
have conveyed the classified information innocently, not realizing he was
breaking the law. "The man is not a spy, he's an idiot," an official
familiar with the investigations told the paper.
The New York Times
reported yesterday that the FBI has been in contact with Franklin for
about a month, and is seeking his cooperation.
The newspaper also
reported that two high-profile officials might be called to give testimony
in the case. A government official familiar with the case said that FBI
officials had expressed an interest in interviewing two of Franklin's
superiors, Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense for policy, and
Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary, although there is no sign
they are a focus of the probe. It was unclear whether the FBI had decided
to go ahead with those interviews, the paper said.
Israeli sources
said that Israel has not received a request from any branch of the
administration for information or clarifications relating to the Franklin
investigation. Neither has Israel initiated contact at any level to find
out about the allegations or provide explanations to the Americans. "It's
being handled solely on the media front," an Israeli official
said.
AIPAC has made no change in its events scheduled to coincide
with the Republican National Convention opening today in New York.
Yesterday the lobby cohosted with other Jewish organizations a major event
in New York that was supposed to feature senior Republican Party
officials. Jewish sources were hopeful yesterday that the affair will die
down in a few days and wind up as an ordinary investigation into a leak,
not an espionage scandal. American media outlets yesterday devoted less
attention to the mole story, with headlines given over to pre-convention
protests in New York.