FBI Searches Pro-Israel Lobbyists' Office
Wednesday December 1, 2004 11:46 PM
By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press Writer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4647948,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - FBI agents searched files and served
subpoenas Wednesday at the offices of the major
pro-Israel lobbying organization as part of an
investigation into whether Israel improperly obtained
classified U.S. information on Iran.

The search at the offices of the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee was disclosed in a statement
by the organization, which repeated it is cooperating
``in order to get these false and baseless allegations
put to rest fully and swiftly.''

``As we have said from the beginning, AIPAC has done
nothing wrong,'' the statement said.

The FBI previously searched AIPAC's offices on Aug.
27.

Agents also have interviewed two AIPAC employees about
whether a Defense Department analyst, Larry Franklin,
gave them classified information that would up with
Israel. Franklin works on Iran and Middle East issues
in the office of policy undersecretary Douglas Feith.
Franklin has not commented on the probe and has not
been charged.

AIPAC said FBI agents on Wednesday requested and
received files related to those same two employees,
who previously were identified - Steve Rosen, the
director of research, and Keith Weissman, deputy
director of foreign policy issues.

The FBI has copied computer hard drives and files from
both men.

In addition, the AIPAC statement said subpoenas were
served by the FBI requiring four unidentified senior
AIPAC officials to testify before the federal grand
jury investigating the case.

The FBI and Justice Department declined comment.

The Israeli government has denied spying on the United
States, saying that meetings between U.S. and Israeli
officials are common and that the two countries share
many secrets. Iran, particularly any assessments of
its nuclear ambitions, is of critical importance to
Israel's security interests.

Israel said it has imposed a ban on espionage in the
United States since the scandal over Jonathan Pollard,
an American caught spying for Israel in 1985.

The AIPAC investigation, which dates to the early 2001
days of the Bush administration, is being handled by
U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty of Alexandria, Va. No
charges have been brought.
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FBI raids AIPAC offices once again By Nathan Guttman

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/508669.html

WASHINGTON - For the second time in 13 weeks, FBI
agents raided the pro-Israel American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) offices yesterday searching
for information against Larry Franklin, an analyst at
the Middle East desk of the Pentagon.
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FBI searches offices of Israel lobbying group as part
of spy probe

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-12-01-fbi-israel-iran_x.htm

WASHINGTON — The FBI searched the offices of the
premier pro-Israel advocacy group in the United States
for more than six hours Wednesday, took away computer
files and issued subpoenas to four senior staffers in
a continuing probe of whether a midlevel Pentagon
analyst passed classified information to Israel.
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More information on Israel at:
http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/Park/6443/Israel/
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