Times reporters questioned in AIPAC case

JTA - Feb. 2, 2006

U.S. agents questioned two New York Times reporters regarding the American Israel Public Affairs Committee classified-information case.

One of the reporters, David Cloud, was asked about contacts he had with AIPAC in the spring of 2003 when he worked for The Wall Street Journal, the Times reported. The questioning comes after the judge in the case, U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, recently told a courtroom in Alexandria, Va., that he believes civilians are just as liable as government employees under laws governing the dissemination of classified information.

A former Pentagon analyst on Iran, Lawrence Franklin, was recently sentenced to more than 12 years in the case after pleading guilty to leaking classified information. The trial of Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, two former employees at AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, is expected to begin later this year. Rosen and Weissman allegedly relayed that leaked information to AIPAC colleagues, the media and an Israeli official.

See Also: The Franklin/AIPAC Spy Case Page