EX-ANALYST POLLARD PLEADS GUILTY TO SPYING FOR ISRAEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605070023-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: June 5, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

\ ~ Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/04 :CIA-RDP90-009658000605070023-2
~ ~
,~ ~~~~~~~ WASHINGTON POST
5 rune 1986
Ex-Anal st Pollard Pleads
Guilt to S i for Israel
y,, ~ py ~
y Joe P~ic'liiralla ~
.
Washuigion-Post `Slaff-Writer .~
Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former
civilian Navy counterintelligence
analyst, pleaded guilty yesterday to
participating in an espionage con-
spiracy directed by Israeli officials
in.which Pollard was promised more
than $300,000 for delivering suit-
cases full of U.S. military secrets,
according to federal prosecutors.
Pollard routinely obtained secret
documents from the Navy and U.S.
intelligence agencies for more than
a year and dropped the data off at a
Washington apartment that his Is-
raeli contacts had equipped with
photocopying machines, according
to documents filed by prosecutors
in U.5. District Court.
The operation, prosecutors said,
was managed in this country first by
an Israeli Air Force colonel and lat-
er by a science consul at Israel's
New York consulate, and was direc-
ted from Israel by. Rafael fRafi)
Eitan, a former terrorism adviser to
two Israeli prime ministers.
At yesterday's court proceeding
before U.S. District Court Judge
Aubrey E. Robinson, Pollard and his
wife, Anne Henderson-Pollard,
pleaded guilty as part of an agree-
ment worked out in extensive ne-
gotiations between their lawyers
and federal prosecutors. Pollard,
who has been in custody without
bond since his arrest Nov. 21, and
his wife, who was released on bond
in late February, are .cooperating
with federal officials in the continu-
ing investigation.
Pollard, 31, pleaded guilty to con-
spiring to provide U.S. military se-
crets to Israel, a crime that carries
a maximum penalty of life in prison
and a $250,000 tine. Prosecutors
said that they have agreed not to
ask for a life sentence~but that they
will ask Robinson to impose a "sub-
stantial" prison sentence. No sen-
tencing date has been set.
Henderson-Pollard, ~26, pleaded
guilty to two felony charges: con-
spiring to receive embezzled gov-
ernment property and being an ac-
cessory after the fact to possessing
secret U.S, military documents.
She could receive up to 10 years in
prison and a fine of $500,000. Her
attorney, James Hibey, told report-
ers yesterday that the charges
against her show that she did not
provide any U.S. secrets to Israel
or any other foreign country.
The Israeli government has re-
peatedly said that top Israeli offi-
cials were unaware of the Pollard
operation and have described it as a
"renegade" unit that functioned out-
side normal Israeli intelligence
channels.
Named as unindicted coconspir-
ators in the indictment of Pollard
were four Israelis: Eitan; Israeli Air
Force Col. Aviem (Avi) Sella, alleg-
edly Pollard's initial contact; Joseph
(Yossi) Yagur, a former science
consul at Israel's New York City
consulate who allegedly replaced
Sella as Pollard's control agent, and
Irit Erb, a former secretary in the
Israeli Embassy in Washington.
A U.S. official said that the Jus-
tice Department is considering
whether formal charges will be filed
against Eitan and the other unin-
dicted coconspirators.
Richard Hibey, Pollard's attor-
ney, told reporters after yester-
day's court proceeding that his cli-
ent "is a person who is totally com-
mitted to America. He also believes
in the Israeli state."
The arrest of Pollard, who was
taken into custody outside the Is-
raeli Embassy in Upper Northwest
after he and his wife unsuccessfully
sought asylum there, provoked an
uproar both here and in Israel and
temporarily strained U.S. relations
with the Jewish state, a close ally in
the Middle East.
The incident proved embarrass-
ing for the government of Israeli
Prime Minister Shimon Peres be-
cause Israel and the United States
have, an agreement not to conduct
espionage operations against each
other.
>;.p Jerusalem yesterday, a spokes-
man for the Foreign Ministry de-
clined to comment on the details
brought out in-court yesterday, say-
ing, that "we cannot comment on
[the) contents because the matter
is sub judice [before the court] and
sentences are awaited."
The spokesman repeated earlier
statements that Israel continues "to
cooperate fully" with the United
States.
U.S. officials familiar with the
Pollard case said the new informa-
tion developed by investigators,
much of it resulting from details
pronrjded by Pollard, raises ques-
tion8 about whether Israel has in
fac>;-fully cooperated or whether it
tried to cover up crucial facts about
the Cittent of the Pollard operation.
bite U.S. law enforcement official
said yesterday that the account that
Eitan and other Israeli officials im-
plicated in the spying operation pro-
vided when they were interviewed
by U.S. Investigators in Israel last
Year was significantly different
from facts subsequently established
bY. prosecutors and the FBI and
made public in court yesterday.
"There were a substantial num-
ber of differences," the official said.
It was like night and day."
For example, two U.S. officials
said that Eitan and the other Is-
raelis interviewed never disclosed
Sella's role or the fact that a bank
account had been set up for Pollard
in Switzerland. Prosecutors said
that Eitan and others promised to
pay Pollard $30,000 a year for 10
years in addition to giving him
monthly cash payments, which
started out at $1,500 and were lat-
er increased to $2,500 a month.
Pollard received , more than
$45,000, prosecutors said.
A senior Israeli official said in
Jeruualem late yesterday that the
government would make Sella avail-
able for questioning by U.S. law
enforcement officials
The Israeli official also sought to
minimize the significance of Sella's
role as a liaison with Pollard.
"The fact that a liaison was iden-
tified-and, of course [Pollard) had
to have aliaison-doesn't make it a
widespread network," the official
said.
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``~ ~.S. Attorney Joseph E. di-
Gei-ova, in a news conference after
y+esterday's plea, declined to re-
spond to repeated questions about
whether investigators believe the
Pollard operation was officially au-
thorized by the Israeli government.
? "We are not rendering an assess-
ment as to ultimate responsibility,"
dif enova said. "The investigation is
continuing as to those named [in the
court documents] as well as others
unnamed or unknown at this time."
According to sources, there has
been a debate throughout the case
between Justice Department offi-
cials, who were eager to make pub-
lic the full extent of the operation,
and State Department officials con-
cerned about the case's impact on
the crucial relationship between the
United States and Israel.
Yesterday, diGenova said "the fi-
nal judgment" on charges and the
information contained in the public
court documents was made by bis
office and Justice Department offi-
cials.
Sources familiar with the case
said a major reason the case was
able to be fully developed was that
FBI agents moved in and arrested
Pollard at the Israeli Embassy after
he attempted to flee.
Said one law enforcement official:
"Once the arrest occurred, there
was no stopping [the investigation].
It was public."
Sources said that U.S. officials
are still .conducting an internal re-
view to assess fully the damage
caused by the reams of information ~ to introduce him to Sella, then a
Pollard-provided the Israelis. graduate student at New York Uni-
The court documents provide versity. Pollard told Sella he wanted
only~yague clues as to the informs- to spy for Israel and Sella agreed to
tion provided by Pollard and in gen- set up the operation after he asked
eral described the data as "scien- and received from Pollard examples
tific, technical, and military infor- of the classified information Pollard
mation." The items turned over in- could obtain.
eluded unspecified intelligence pub- Sella told Pollard he would ar-
~ lications and satellite photos, pros- range for Pollard.. to be .paid for the
ecutors said. data, coached Pollard on a "cover"
Foreign diplomatic sources said story to explain how he could- have
last year that the classified infor- money above his government sala-
mation the Israelis received includ- ry-about $33,000 a year-and
ed technical assessments of radar taught him other intelligence tech-
and other electronic equipment niques, including a code system
used by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and based on the Hebrew al habet that
possibly Jordan to monitor Middle Sella used to contact Pop rd at pay
East military activities, telephones.
Ina 1984 meeting in which Eitan In the fall of 1984, at Sella's di-
and others explained to Pollard the rection, Pollard and his wife went to
type of information they were seek- Paris where Pollard met Eitan and
ing, according to prosecutors, Eitan Yagur, who. was to take over as Pol-
told Pollard that "the government of lard's control agent. ~'
Israel sought this specific classified In a subsequent trip to Israel in
information in order to identify and the fall of 1985, Yagur told Pollard of
assess threats to Israel's security." the.bank account that was opened on
In a separate meeting, according his behalf in the name of "Danny
to prosecutors, science consul Cohen." Yagur also showed Pollard
Yagur told Pollard that secret doe- an Israeli passport, with Pollard's
uments Pollard already had deliv- picture, in the name of "Danny
ered "had been utilized by various Cohen." Yagur told Pollard that when
branches of the Israeli military." Pollard settled in Israel he would live
Pollard, who was employed at the there under that name.
Naval Investigative Service's Anti- In the United States, Pollard
Terrorist Alert Center in 5uitland would deliver classified documents
while he was spying, had a top se- every two weeks to the apartment
cret security clearance and had ac- of Erb, the former Israeli Embassy
cess not only to confidential Navy secretary, and. the information
intelligence data but also informs- would be photocopied in another
tion compiled by the Defense Intel-
ligence Agency and other U.S. gov- apartment in her building.
ernment agencies, prosecutors said. Pollard made his last delivery to
Also, they said, Pollard vas able to Erb on N~v. 15. Three days later,
walk out of his Navy office complex the FBI a ents and Navy investiga-
with documents he was not author- tors confronted him at work.
ized to have because he had a "cou- On Nov. 21, after being advised
rier card" that enabled him to leave by the Israeli Embassy's security
his office without being searched. officer to shake his FBI surveil-
[t has not been disclosed how lance, Pollard and his wife drove to
Pollard's activities were uncovered. the embassy to seek asylum. But
According to the indictment and they were turned away, and Pollard
outline of evidence filed b was arrested by FBI agents who
y prose- had followed him to the embassy.
cutors, the espionage operation de-
veloped this way: Correspondent William Claiborne
In the spring of 1984, Pollard contributed to this report from
asked an unidentified acquaintance Israel.
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POLLARD SPY CASE CHRONOLOGY
^ Sept. 19, 1979: Jonathan Jay Pollard is hired as irrtelligence '
research specialist by U.S. Navy Field Operations Intelligence Office. He
holds that position within various Navy divisions until June 1984.
^ Early 1984: Pollard tells an unidentified associate. that he is
interested in meeting an Israeli military officer with whom the associate
is acquainted.
^ Summer 1984: Pollard meets the officer, Aviem (Avi) Sella, and
agrees to pass classified documents to Sella and other Israeli
representatives. During the summer they have further meetings at which
Pollard passes documents to Sella.
^ June 1984: Pollard is assigned as watch officer for Anti?Terrorist
Alert Center, Threat Analysis Division, Naval Investigative Service (NIS):
^ late summer 1984: Sella tells Pollard he is returning to Israel and
that Pollard wilt be assigned a new "handler."
^ October 1984: Pollard becomes an intelligence research specialist in
the Anti?Terrorist Alert Center. He holds ahigh-level security clearance
and analyzes intelligence data about potential terrorist threats in the
Caribbean and continental United States.
^ November 1984: Pollard and his wife Anne Henderson?Pollard travel
to Paris at Sella's direction for two days of meetings with Rafi Eitan,
identified as the head of the operation; Joseph (Yossi) Yagur, science
consul at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and Sella.
^ After November 1984: Pollard removes documents from his office
about three times weekly using a "courier card" that permits him to
avoid being searched. He delivers the documents to Yagur or Irit Erb, an
Israeli citizen who worked at the Israeli Embassy, at an apartment in
.Washington every two weeks.
^ Spring 1985: Pollard's "handlers" give him a raise, from $1,500
monthly to $2,500.
^ Summer 1985: Pollard gives his wife five documents, marked
"secret," about the Chinese Embassy's structure and key diplomats, to
help her prepare a presentation to embassy officials for her public
relations firm.
^ Nov. 15: Pollard delivers suitcase of classified documents to Erb's
apartment for copying.
^ Nov. 17: When Pollard returns to retrieve the documents, Erb does not
come to the door, "an unusual occurrence which made Pollard nervous,"
^ Nov. 18: F81 and NIS agents stop Pollard in the parking lot of the
NIS facility at Suitland and question him. During the interview, Pollard
.telephones his wife and mentions a code word, "cactus," to alert her to
remove classified documents from their apartment. Anne
Henderson?Pollard removes a suitcase containing classified documents
from their apartment and meets with Sella, with whom they had
previously arranged to have dinner, She tells him Pollard is in trouble.
^ Nov. 19: Pollard, at Sella's instruction, calls Yagur, seeking help.
Yagur tells Pollard to stall for time.
^ Nov. 20: Irit Erb leaves the United States.
^ Nov. 21: The Pollards unsuccessfully seek asylum at the Israeli
Embassy. Jonathan Pollard is arrested.
^ Nov. 22: Anne Henderson?Pollard is arrested, Yagur leaves the United
States.
^ June 4, 1986: Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to conspiring to provide
U.S. military secrets to the Israelis, and Anne Henderson?Pollard pleads
guilty to conspiring to receive embezzled government property and being an
accessory after the fact to possessing secret military documents.
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