Jonathan Pollard Spy Case – Damage Assessments, CIA, FBI, DOD, White House Files

Description

Jonathan Pollard Spy Case: Timeline and Key Figures

Timeline of Main Events in the Jonathan Pollard Spy Case

• August 7, 1954: Jonathan Jay Pollard is born in Galveston, Texas.
• Early Years: Pollard attends Stanford University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. During this time, he reportedly amuses classmates with espionage fantasies and claims to be a Mossad colonel.
• Pre-1984: Pollard’s application to the CIA is rejected. He subsequently joins the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) and works as an intelligence analyst in its Anti-Terrorist Alert Center (ATAC).
• 1984-1985: While working at the NIS, Jonathan Pollard spies for Israel, providing top-secret classified information. The CIA damage assessment later determines that Israel sought information about Syrian drones and central communications, Egyptian missile programs, and Soviet air defenses, particularly a signals intelligence manual. The report notes Israel did not express interest in US military activities, plans, capabilities, or equipment.
• October 1983: The bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut occurs. Pollard later cites the perceived inadequate US response to this event as a key contributing factor to his decision to spy for Israel, feeling it demonstrated a potential unwillingness or inability of the US to adequately support Israel’s security.
• June 1984: Pollard visits the CIA. An FBI memo later details the information and material he was exposed to during this visit.
• Late 1985: A colleague at work notices Pollard requesting classified documents outside the scope of his work and reports him.
• November 15, 1985: The FBI enters the case and begins a series of interviews with Pollard.
• November 21, 1985: After an interview with FBI agents, Pollard and his wife, Anne Henderson Pollard, drive to the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. Pollard requests political asylum, hoping to flee the United States. The Israeli government refuses their request. Jonathan Pollard is arrested outside the Israeli Embassy.
• November 22, 1985: The FBI arrests Anne Henderson Pollard. They are both charged with selling classified documents to Israel. Four Israeli officials involved in the operation are also indicted but escape the United States. The Israeli government claims it was a “rogue operation.”
• 1987: As part of a plea agreement, Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel, violating the Espionage Act.
• October 30, 1987: The CIA’s Foreign Denial and Deception Analysis Committee produces a Top Secret/Codeword damage assessment report, examining the damage caused by Pollard’s espionage in 1984 and 1985. The report details Pollard’s history, his espionage activities, Israeli intelligence priorities, the material Pollard provided, and resulting losses and vulnerabilities.
• January 7, 1987: Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger submits sentencing affidavits for Jonathan Pollard.
• 1987: Jonathan Pollard is sentenced to life in prison.
• July 1986 – November 1991: The U.S. Naval Investigative Service (NIS) produces Pollard Case Summaries.
• 2002: The Defense Personnel Security Research Center releases a report titled “Espionage Against the United States by American Citizens 1947-2001,” which includes an analysis of the Pollard case.
• Ongoing: Congressional Research Service produces reports on Jonathan Pollard’s background and considerations for presidential clemency.
• Ongoing (Clinton Administration): Files from the office of former Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton, Meredith Cabe, document Congressional and public correspondence, petitions, legal documents, and White House pardon documents related to Jonathan Pollard.
• July 7, 2015: Jonathan Pollard is granted parole, as his crime occurred before November 1, 1987, making him eligible under the sentencing guidelines at the time.
• November 20, 2015: Jonathan Pollard is released from prison.

Cast of Characters and Brief Bios

• Jonathan Jay Pollard: An American civilian intelligence analyst for the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). Born on August 7, 1954. He pleaded guilty in 1987 to spying for Israel and providing them with top-secret classified information. He was sentenced to life in prison, granted parole on July 7, 2015, and released on November 20, 2015. He reportedly harbored strong concerns for Israel’s security and was disillusioned by the US response to events like the Beirut Marine barracks bombing.
• Anne Henderson Pollard: Jonathan Pollard’s wife. She was arrested the day after her husband and charged with selling classified documents to Israel.
• Ronald J. Olive: Author of the book “Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice.” The excerpt mentions his account of Pollard’s earlier years, including claims of being a Mossad colonel.
• Caspar W. Weinberger: Secretary of Defense at the time of Pollard’s sentencing. He submitted sentencing affidavits to the court regarding Jonathan Pollard.
• Meredith Cabe: Former Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton. Her office files contain extensive documentation related to the Jonathan Pollard case during the Clinton administration, including correspondence and pardon documents.
• Unnamed Israeli Officials: Four Israeli officials who were involved in the espionage operation with Pollard were indicted in the United States but escaped and were not apprehended. Their specific identities are not provided in this source.
• Unnamed Colleague: The NIS colleague of Jonathan Pollard who noticed his suspicious requests for classified documents and reported him, initiating the FBI investigation.
• FBI Agents: Unnamed agents who interviewed Jonathan Pollard in November 1985, leading to his attempt to seek asylum at the Israeli Embassy and subsequent arrest.
• Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) (during 1987): The individual who directed the CIA’s Foreign Denial and Deception Analysis Committee to produce the damage assessment report on Pollard’s espionage. Their name is not specified in this source.

Jonathan Pollard Spy Case – Damage Assessments, CIA, FBI, DOD, White House Files

2,614 pages of CIA, FBI, Department of Defense Files and Congressional Research Service reports and White House documents covering the Jonathan Pollard spy case.

Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) was an intelligence analyst for the Naval Investigative Service.  In 1987, as part of a plea agreement, Pollard pleaded guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison for violations of the Espionage Act. He was granted parole on July 7, 2015 and released on November 20, 2015.

The core 1,250 pages of documents in this collection include:

The Jonathan Jay Pollard Espionage Case: A Damage Assessment, October 30, 1987.

In 1987, the CIA’s Foreign Denial and Deception Analysis Committee, at the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence, produced a Top Secret/Codeword 166-page study examining the damage caused by Jonathan Pollard’s espionage on behalf of Israel in 1984 and 1985. The focus of the study was Pollard’s personal history and espionage career, Israeli intelligence priorities and requests, material provided by Pollard, as well as losses and vulnerabilities. Additional material includes a detailed chronology and lessons learned in this case concerning security and counterintelligence.

The report includes a section titled “What the Israelis Did Not Ask For.” The study states that Israel “never expressed interest in US military activities, plans, capabilities, or equipment.” The report says that Pollard’s Israeli handlers sought information about Syrian drones and central communications, Egyptian missile programs, and Soviet air defenses. Israel was greatly interested in a signals intelligence manual that would allow them to listen in on Soviet advisers in Syria.

When interviewed by the FBI, Pollard claimed that a key contributing factor to his actions was his concern and frustration over the inadequate US reaction following the bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut in October 1983. Pollard rationalized that if the U.S. Government was unwilling to take effective countermeasures to protect its own interests in Lebanon, then it might be unwilling or unable to provide Israel with adequate assistance in the event of critical need. Pollard stated he “walked out of the memorial service (for the Marines) committed to doing something that would guarantee Israel’s security even though it might involve a degree of potential risk and personal sacrifice.”

U.S. Naval Investigative Service (NIS) Pollard Case Summaries July 1986 to November 1991

Congressional Research Service – Jonathan Pollard Background and Considerations for Presidential Clemency

Memorandums submitted to the Court by Pollard about the documents compromised by him.

FBI memo on information and material Pollard was exposed to on a June 1984 visit to the CIA by Pollard.

January 7, 1987 – Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger Sentencing Affidavits for Jonathan Pollard

 
Additional Material includes:

Espionage Against the United States by American Citizens 1947-2001 (2002)

A 135-page report produced by TRW Systems and released by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center.

Analyses of 150 cases of espionage against the United States by American citizens between 1947 and 2001, including Pollard. Provides detailed data on the demographic and employment characteristics of American spies, on the means and methods they used to commit espionage, on their motivations, and on the consequences they suffered. Collected materials on the cases supplement the analyses conducted with a database that allows comparison of groups and the identification of trends. Factors highlighted include changes in espionage by Americans since the end of the Cold War and the impact of globalization and networked information systems on the practice of espionage.

Clinton Administration Files

1,246 pages from the office of former Associate Counsel to President Bill Clinton, Meredith Cabe. Files contain Congressional correspondence, correspondence with the public, copies of petitions and legal documents filled by lawyers representing Johnathan Pollard and White House pardon documents concerning Pollard

About Jonathan Jay Pollard

Jonathan Jay Pollard, born August 7, 1954, in Galveston, Texas, is a convicted Israeli American spy. While working as an American civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy, he passed classified information to Israel. He was convicted and received a life sentence in 1987. As his crime occurred prior to November 1, 1987, he was eligible for parole.

Pollard attended Stanford University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. According to Ronald J. Olive, author of the book, “Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice,” he amused his classmates with his espionage fantasies, he claimed to be a Mossad colonel, but he wasn’t taken seriously. When Pollard’s application to the CIA was rejected, he went to the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) and found a home in its Anti-Terrorist Alert Center (ATAC).

Pollard was turned in by a colleague at work who noticed that Pollard requested classified documents not needed in his work. The FBI entered the case on November 15 and began a series of interviews with Pollard. After an interview with FBI agents on November 21, Pollard and his wife drove to the Israeli Embassy in Washington where they stayed for approximately 20 minutes. Inside the Embassy, Pollard requested political asylum with the hope of fleeing the United States. The Israelis refused to grant them asylum. Jonathan Pollard was arrested on November 21, 1985, outside the Israeli Embassy. The next day, the FBI arrested his wife, Anne Henderson Pollard. They were charged with selling classified documents to Israel. Four Israeli officials also were indicted but escaped the United States. The Israeli government claimed that it was a rogue operation.