DOD Continues to Deny Aspin Letter to Pollard's Attorney

GIBSON DUNN & CRUTCHER
1050 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington DC 20036-5306

December 29, 1993

BY TELECOPY

The Honorable Jamie S. Gorelick
Legal Counsel
Department of Defense
The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301

Re: Jonathan J. Pollard

OUR FILE NUMBER
T 72543-00001

Dear Ms. Gorelick:

I am writing to request additional information concerning the letter by Secretary Aspin to President Clinton regarding my client Jonathan Pollard's application for commutation of his life sentence to time served. As set forth in my letter to you of yesterday, I have not yet been provided with a copy of Secretary Aspin's letter despite repeated requests. However, Pentagon officials have "willingly shared" the letter with The Washington Post (Wash. Post, Dec. 29, 1993, at A6), The New York Times, ABC World News and other media organizations.

The press reports state that the Secretary's letter contains allegations that Mr. Pollard included classified information in fourteen letters sent from prison since 1989. I hereby request that you immediately provide me with copies of the following:

  1. unredacted copies of the fourteen letters that allegedly contain classified information;

  2. any and all analyses concerning such letters and the alleged classified information contained in the letters; and

  3. any and all copies of such letters as redacted by Naval Intelligence following review of the letters for classified information.
As Mr. Pollard's attorney, I have received all necessary security clearances in connection with this matter, as has my associate, Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr.

Very truly yours,

(signed) Theodore B. Olson

TBO/hlv

cc: Stephen Preston, Esq.
Deputy General Counsel

Justice4JP Note

To this day (web posted July 2001) neither Jonathan Pollard nor his attorneys have ever seen the Aspin letter or related material. The only challenge that Jonathan's attorney was able to make to the widely-publicized and very damaging allegations that the Aspin letter allegedly contained relied upon media accounts and not on first- hand knowledge of the document. (See Olson's Jan 4, 1994 Letter) The theme of secret evidence that Jonathan Pollard and his "Top-Secret" security cleared attorneys are never allowed to see or to challenge in a court of law permeates the case and continues to this day. (See the Court Case 2000-2001 Page and recent court submissions to allow Pollard's attorneys access to the secret portions of his file.)

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