Where Does Rick Lazio Stand On Due Process and Equal Justice?

Justice4JP Release - September 1, 2000

Consider the following:

  • "Rick Lazio's position on Pollard is an insult to our intelligence. It is an insult to me, an insult to the Jewish community and a throw-back to 10 years ago." (NY Assemblyman Dov Hikind 01/09/000)

  • "Mr. Lazio has said that he will ask the next president to review the Pollard case 'on humanitarian grounds' and make a decision on whether he should remain in jail. If Pollard is not granted clemency, Mr. Lazio would call on the next president 'to make the reasoning behind that decision as public as possible.'" (The Forward 09/01/00)

  • "He [Lazio] was deeply troubled by the allegations of injustice [in the Pollard case]; he simply was not able to overcome his feelings about the crimes committed by Mr. Pollard but would continue to look into the facts." (The Jewish Press 08/18/00)

  • "On the Pollard matter Congressman Lazio said that while he appreciated the concern in the Jewish community, he was not ready [ed. 2 months away from the elections] to finally decide on a position. (The Jewish Press 08/18/00)

Justice4JP's Position:

While Justice4JP does not endorse or oppose any candidate in the New York Senate race, it has long been our contention that a candidate's stand on the Pollard case has, historically, been an accurate measure of his/her commitment to the truth, or alternately a reflection of his/her willingness to subvert principles of honesty, justice, and fair play to political goals.

How much more so is this the case in recent days, when a host of judicial inequities have come to light in the open record of the Pollard case, among them:

  • the lack of due process
  • the use of secret evidence
  • a broken plea agreement
  • a grossly disproportionate sentence
  • a false charge of treason
  • blatantly inaccurate evidence
  • ex parte communication between the judge and the prosecution
  • ineffective legal counsel and last but not least, the
  • US's violation of a commitment to Israel not to use the documents Israel returned in the prosecution of Pollard.
In spite of all of these judicial inequities, Rick Lazio says that his "feelings" about Pollard, prevent him from acting on the facts to ensure due process, fairness, and judicial equity for all Americans. Voters have to consider if they want to support a candidate for whom "feelings" take precedence over facts.

Moreover, Jonathan Pollard has been shamelessly exploited by the current Administration as a carrot on a stick in the Middle East peace process. Pollard's release has been bought and paid for several times over by successive Israeli administrations, yet delivery has never occurred.

In 1998 President Clinton reneged on an explicit commitment to then Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to free Jonathan Pollard as an integral part of the Wye accords. Instead he promised to do a "swift speedy review of the case".

Two years later there has been no evidence of speed and no review, yet Rick Lazio suggests that he will ask the next President to review the Pollard case as well. NY Assemblyman Dov Hikind calls this response, "an insult to our intelligence." It is.

See Also:
  • Hillary Seen Eyeing Pollard Clemency Call
  • Hillary & Hikind
  • The Senate Race page