Trafficking Information

What are the chances of Charles reporting this? Two former top officials in a lobbying group were indicted for conspiring to communicate classified defense information in an attempt to influence U.S. foreign policy. Sounds like a juicy story. Can you imagine if these men were top officials of Democrat or Muslim lobbying group? The lizards would be foaming at the mouth. Unfortunately for them the men were officials for AIPAC (prominent pro-Israel group). So it won't get mentioned.

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department indicted two top former officials with a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group Thursday for allegedly conspiring to communicate classified defense information.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said the men were attempting to influence U.S. foreign policy. He said trafficking in information is commonplace in the nation's capital but a "clear line separates classified information from everything else."

"Today's charges are about crossing that clear line," McNulty said.

The indictment paints a more detailed picture of the case against Pentagon analyst Lawrence Franklin, who was charged in May with leaking classified information to the pro-Israel lobbyists about possible attacks by Iran on U.S. forces in Iraq.

The indictment charges Steven Rosen, former foreign policy director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, with conspiring to communicate classified information.

Franklin, who worked on the Iran desk in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's office, had also been charged with three counts of communication of national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it. In Thursday's indictment, Rosen was charged with aiding and abetting Franklin in one of those counts by passing along written classified information.

Keith Weissman, a former senior Middle East analyst with AIPAC, was charged with one count of conspiracy to communicate classified national defense information.