Ex-Pentagon Analyst Sentenced to 12 Years (Larry Franklin)

Ex-Pentagon Analyst Sentenced to 12 Years

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago



ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A former
Pentagon analyst was sentenced Friday to more than 12 years in prison for giving classified information to an Israeli diplomat and members of a pro-
Israel lobbying group.


U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III said he gave Lawrence A. Franklin a sentence on the low end of federal guidelines because it appeared Franklin was trying help the United States, not hurt it.

The judge also agreed to let Franklin remain free while the government continues with the wider case. His prison time could be sharply reduced in return for his help in prosecuting two former members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Franklin — who had worked with top Pentagon officials, including Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy, and has expertise on
Iraq and
Iran — pleaded guilty in October to three felony counts. Three other counts were dropped in exchange.

Franklin, 59, did not speak at his sentencing.



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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/pentagon_spy_probe

for posting this.

I'd forgotten about this one. Thanks.

extremely important scandal/crime. The two AIPAC leaders have had their trial postponed until spring. It's interesting to note Larry pled to a 12-year sentence, which gives one an idea how much they had on him. His cooperation will be of value in exposing how we ended up in Iraq.

in 2004 not too long before the election. Naturally I was hoping that the story would break in a major way at that time. Isn't there a connection to Feith, Rumsfeld and Cheney in all of this?

At any rate, Al Gore, in his speech on Monday, alluded to an even bigger Republican scandal than Abramoff and others that have gotten media attention. I assumed it was this one.

of the Plame scandal. The neocon/AIPAC; Plame; and Niger document forgery scandals are the three leaves on one clover.

He who is suspected of producing those Niger forgeries, I wonder if McNulty has any evidence Ledeen, and if those forgeries will play a part in this trial, or if that will be a separate prosecution? Also, do you think there is any danger here for Miss Run Amok,unidentified woman A, aka Judy Miller?

had one ankle tied to each case.

thread on DU today. I wish more people were paying attention to it. Please nominate!

I was wondering about this case yesterday, but didn't have the time to research it then. Glad it is going this way too. Hope they open the damn on this and hit them from both sides.

to note how little media attention that this case continues to receive. As John Lennon used to say, "A conspiracy of silence speaks louder than words."

"You never leave a guy alone unless you're leaving him alone."

Is it too much of a hot potato or is our attention span really down to 2 hours at best?

This is bullshit. I'm a citizen of this country. I demand to know the whole truth about his spying.

And the judge, "he was trying to help the US, not hurt it." Then why 12 years. What would the good folks in Rotary get, the ones who help their local communities, 20 years.

Franklin was either a spy or he wasn't.

This is another f'ing rigged game, total disinformation awareness (TDA).

to testify against the two AIPAC officials. However, in line with what you are saying, it is interesting to note that those two are being pressured to make deals and go quietly to prison for the "good of the cause."

It's funny how little attention the case gets. The idea that people don't care about it is baloney: if it were reported on HardBall, O'Reilly, or in the New York Times, people would be interested. Especially because it relates to plans to invade Iran -- something that is also curiously under-reported.

Prosecutors are going to accept pleas? Makes me sick. Just when I thought there may be justice...finally, and for the American people to realize who our REAL enemies really are.

are not looking to plea. They want to challange some of the government's "information collecting" activities. Surely since the NSA information came out, they might be more inclined to try this route. After the Keith case in the '70s, it would make sense from the legal standpoint.

However, the forces behind the scenes do not want any of this to come out. There is a huge amount of pressure being put on the two fellows to plea in order to keep the affair quiet. I find that to be very disturbing.

But I read the two, particularly Rosen, are triply ticked off because AIPAC has cut them loose and is no longer paying their salaries or for their lawyers. I hope they are as seriously mad as Scanlon's girlfriend Emily was.

Fools, did they really expect anything different?

Yes, there is a chance that their attorneys will -- like our beast fiend Scooter's attorneys did yesterday -- attempt to put so much pressure on the administration, that something will "give." Things are going to get ugly between now and April. Very ugly.

or, we lose ugly?

... with the exception of "we lose ugly."

"We will fight, if necessary
and we know we shall win
As we are confident in the victory
of Good over evil, of Good over evil ..."
-- Bob Marley, "War"

I hope we can have hearings on this. Add it to the list. Is that still able to happen even though he's in jail?

Franklin admitted that he met periodically with Rosen and Weissman between 2002 and 2004 and discussed classified information, including information about potential attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq. Rosen and Weissman would later share what they learned with reporters and Israeli officials.

You call that reporting??? Twelve years for saying our troops in Iraq might get attacked? What else was "included" in these discussions? What about Iran?????

was on Iran.

Their humint in the region is VASTLY better than ours. Did he pass on satellite images of where Iran's nuke facilities might be located?

was passed on is, of course, not public information. But it would be safe to assume that it is not "humint" .... and that it concerns Iranian military capabilities.

how the campaign against Iran was shaping up?

how the campaign against Iran is now shaping up.

Robert Hansen story.

Maybe it was because Hansen was a double agent for the Russians. This guy was spying for Israel. I guess there are degrees of treason. Russians bad, Israel not so bad.

the head .... it is so much so that the judge reportedly noted that Franklin believed he was doing the right thing. I guess a sense of self-righteousness is noble when spying. Franklin also admitted he expected a job promotion to result from his activities, which is another sign of nobility in our system.

The sentence is way too lenient, especially during a "time of war."

just wondering?