Hillary's Camp Weighing Clemency for Pollard
[Oh Really??]*

The New York Post - December 10, 1999
by Robert Hardt Jr. and Gregg Birnbaum

* Justice for JP Prefacing Note

In the NY Post item that follows below, the claim that Hillary Clinton is weighing clemency for Jonathan Pollard is made only by anonymous sources. Not a single official is on record with this statement. It is easy to understand why:

This "news" item is not indicative of any decision that is likely to be announced in the near future. Nor is it a trial balloon. Rather, it is yet another calculated manipulation of the press by this Administration, in response to public demands that the First Lady take a stand on the Pollard issue. It is an attempt to lower the pressure on Hillary Clinton by raising public expectation that a decision about Pollard is to be made very soon.

This is the same type of tactic that has been repeatedly used by this Administration throughout this affair - including President Clinton's promise of a "speedy review" of the case after he reneged on his promise to free Jonathan Pollard as an integral part of the Wye Accords..

Now more than a year since the President made that promise, there has been no "speedy review" - just continued stonewalling. Far from contemplating "a split with her husband" over the Pollard case as the article indicates, Mrs. Clinton's continued evasion of the issue appears to be in complete harmony with the White house's long-standing policy of repeatedly promising, but never delivering on Pollard.

[Text of NY Post article follows]

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is mulling a split with her husband - over the Jonathan Pollard spy scandal.

Mrs. Clinton and her advisers are weighing backing clemency for the former U.S. Navy intelligence officer convicted of spying for Israel and now serving a life sentence, said a source who is familiar with the issue.

Despite growing pressure from Jewish leaders including Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who organized a free-Pollard rally last weekend, Mrs. Clinton has ducked the issue saying that she is waiting for federal officials to make a report to the president. [Contrary to what is written here, Mrs. Clinton has steadfastly refused to make any comment on or about the Pollard case, including offering any explanation as to why she continues to evade the issue.]

But Jewish movers and shakers are increasingly optimistic that on-going talks [which are occurring only in the minds and imagination of these movers and shakers, and no where else] will lead to Mrs. Clinton endorsing clemency for the spy - as Mayor Giuliani has - possibly early next year before the federal review is finished. [As the Israeli press has recently noted, there has been "no review" and "no speed" - just talk, for more than a year.]

"She desperately needs it to help her with Jews - it would help a little - and there is no down side," said a source.

Justice for JP Note: Inserted italicized comments above [in square brackets] are clarifications by Justice for Jonathan Pollard

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