Saturday, May 2, 2009

AIPAC case dismissed. What happens to Larry Franklin?

So the long-expected dismissal of the AIPAC/Rosen/Weissman case has arrived - in a Friday news dump. Great.

Greenwald's response is typical:
(D)espite being as vigorous a critic of AIPAC as can be, I absolutely believe the Obama DOJ did the right thing.
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No matter how harmful one might believe AIPAC to be, the end of this prosecution is something everyone who cares about press freedoms and even free speech should cheer.
There is a problem with that, though, as JTA's Ron Kampeas writes:
But Boente (acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia) made it clear that while Rosen and Weissman are free, the government likes the tool it unearthed in an obscure section of the 1917 Espionage Act -- the ability to charge civilians with dealing in classified information -- and it's going to keep it.
Phil Giraldi adds:
"If you pass information that you know to be classified to a foreign Embassy, that should be considered espionage, shouldn’t it?
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Is there something wrong here? Yes, something terribly wrong, though for the life of me I don’t know how we will ever take our government back. Nothing changes. AIPAC always wins. Depressing."
One other point: None of the coverage today mentions the fact that Larry Franklin is currently a free man, and that his eventual sentence was supposed to be dependent on him co-operating. What happens to Franklin now? And what happens to all of the other evidence he has given FBI counter-intelligence in the meantime? Will that ever be acted upon?

**Update: Court filing due May 14

7 comments:

Robert Paulsen said...

Thank you so much for staying on top of this. It boggles my mind that nobody, not in MSM, not on any other alternative media internet site, NOBODY EXCEPT YOU, seems to be aware of this oversight. I've tried posting about this on DU and everyone there seems to be unaware as well.

Three years after being sentenced to 12.5 years in jail, LARRY FRANKLIN IS STILL A FREE MAN!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5599574

I'll keep shouting out about this injustice if you keep researching. Any updates as to Larry Franklin's current whereabouts? I'd like to see at least one person pay for this scandal.

lukery said...

RP - Franklin was last seen in DC. I suspect he still lives there.

mmonk said...

Yes, good questions on the status of Franklin. I've been trying to figure that out and I've looked at the sentencing and plea documents. However, I still don't know.

Robert Paulsen said...

OK. Some clarity on the situation from Josh Gerstein.

Judge formally drops case against pro-Israel lobbyists

snip

The dismissal aspect of Ellis' order, which was posted on the court's docket today, is essentially a formality. What was more interesting is that he said he is expecting some kind of action from the government regarding Larry Franklin, a Pentagon analyst who pled guilty early on in the case.

Ellis sentenced Franklin in 2006 to more than 12 years in prison for disclosing classified information to Rosen, Weissman and others. However, Franklin agreed to cooperate with the government and never reported to jail.

"It is further ordered that the government is directed to advise the Court, by 5:00 p.m., Thursday May 14, 2009, regarding when it contemplates filing an appropriate motion with respect to defendant Franklin," Ellis's new order says.

Lawyers involved in the case expected Franklin to seek a reduction in his sentence once the trial against Rosen and Weissman was complete. Now that the trial will never happen, it's an open question of how much of a sentence reduction Franklin will get. Presumably, it's not his fault the case was abandoned. In any event, Ellis will have to rule on any sentence reduction. The judge may have to make a hypothetical judgment about how much Franklin's testimony may have helped in a trial that will never take place.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0509/Judge_formally_drops_case_against_proIsrael_lobbyists.html

OK, May 14 is the moment of truth. Let's see if this isn't a total whitewash of justice.

lukery said...

thnx RP

Anonymous said...

MR. Franklin is alive and well in an undisclosed location i feel what he did was wrong by not going thru the proper channles but he is still a good man and i will back himm 100 percent

Askwhy said...

This scumbag has compromised our safety and security and their are still morons that support him and call him a "good man"
This man has commited fucking TREASON..and that means that he has increased the risk of harm to our children and he has increased the risk of terror attacks against our once great nation. If this same behaviour was exhibited against Israel by another country, the words "terror..and terrorists" would be repeated on the Jew controlled mainstream media until we felt like our heads would explode. But hey, there u have it. And we all just sit idly by while this tiny country continues to rape America of its resources and terrorize Palestinian civilians by stealing their homes and denying them basic human neccessities. All with the blessing of almighty America. Does'nt this shit just want to make you throw up? Fucking reprobates..we should be ashamed of ourselves..oh, and take our country back..