Israeli Spy Ring Busted! Developing …

Larry Anthony Franklin, 58, a Pentagon analyst whose specialty is Iran, was arrested by federal agents today when he turned himself. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., later today.

Franklin was observed last year by federal agents revealing top secret information to two employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), longtime foreign policy director Steve Rosen, and his deputy Keith Weissman, at a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. A raid on his home turned up 83 classified U.S. government documents [.pdf]. According to the indictment, “approximately 38 were classified ‘Top Secret.’ 37 were classified ‘Secret,'” and “approximately 8” were marked “Confidential.”

The real stunner: “The dates of these documents spanned three decades.”

This, I think, gives us some indication that Franklin’s arrest is about to dredge up something much larger than anyone now imagines. Remember, the FBI counterintelligence stumbled on Franklin in the course of a much more extensive investigation that has been going on for at least two years. According to the Washington Post:

“The counterintelligence probe, which is different from a criminal investigation, focuses on a possible transfer of intelligence more extensive than whether Franklin passed on a draft presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran, the sources said. The FBI is examining whether highly classified material from the National Security Agency, which conducts electronic intercepts of communications, was also forwarded to Israel, they said.”

So much for the preemptive attempts by Israel’s amen corner to deride the charges as much ado about nothing: a draft presidential directive, as David Frum claimed in National Review, that anyone who had the 35 cents to pay for a copy of the Washington Post could have access to. NSA intercepts are the crown jewels of our intelligence hoard, which could not only reveal specific and very sensitive information, but might also indicate U.S. sources and methods of intelligence-gathering.

I have written about this case extensively, and will surely be writing more. The trial should be interesting, to say the least. Suffice to say now that Franklin’s treason is just the tip of the iceberg: what we are looking at is a longstanding conspiracy by Israeli agents inside the U.S. government to not only funnel classified materials to Tel Aviv, but to manipulate and bend U.S. foreign policy to serve Israeli interests.

The indictment also states that Franklin handed over classified materials to “a foreign official and to members of the news media on other occasions.”

Which “foreign official”? Gee, I wonder if anyone in the Israeli embassy is packing his or her bags and hightailing it back home.

Guess which “members of the news media” — now that‘s a fun game to play.

This is one trial that is going to be very interesting. Get out the popcorn, and the dip-and-chips: maybe they’ll run it on Court TV….

CORRECTION: Franklin has not been indicted. The arrest warrant was generated by the complaint, which was backed up by an affidavit setting forth probable cause.