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Title: For The First Time In More Than A Decade, Bipartisan House Letter Seeks Pollard’s Release
Source:
JTA
URL Source: http://www.jta.org/news/article/201 ... raise-pollard-issue-with-obama
Published: Jun 13, 2012
Author: JTA
Post Date: 2012-06-13 13:24:00 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 984
Comments: 5
WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Congressional Democrats and Republicans are joining forces for the first time in more than a decade in an effort to secure Jonathan Pollard's release. A bipartisan letter is circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives soliciting signatures on a letter to President Obama asking him to commute Pollard's sentence to time served. The "Dear Colleague" letter is signed by veteran House members Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.). "What Mr. Pollard did was wrong. He broke the law and deserved to be punished for his crime," the letter to Obama reads. "Mr. Pollard has now served more than 25 years in prison, many of which in solitary confinement, for his actions. There is no doubt that he has paid a heavy price, and, from the standpoint of either punishment or deterrence, we believe he has been imprisoned long enough." The letter comes as Israeli President Shimon Peres visits the United States, where he is scheduled to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama on Wednesday. Peres said he would raise clemency for Pollard, a civilian U.S. Navy analyst who was sentenced to life in 1987 for spying for Israel, when he meets Obama prior to receiving the honor. "I will speak one on one with the president about Pollard," Peres told reporters after arriving Monday ahead of the Medal of Freedom ceremony on Wednesday. "The Israeli president also has the power of clemency -- I understand all the problems associated with clemency. Clemency is not an extension of the judicial process, it includes considerations beyond and outside this area, and I'll explain this to the president. I expect that I will explain my position, beyond that I can't say -- I don't know what his considerations are. I intend on focusing on the humanitarian aspect." Efforts to persuade Obama to extend clemency to Pollard have intensified in recent months. Pollard is said to be in poor physical condition. Numerous American leaders, who served in both Republican and Democratic administrations, have called for a commutation of Pollard's sentence. Meanwhile, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. cited Pollard's imprisonment in accusing America of hypocrisy for condemning her country's 33-year prison sentence for a Pakistani citizen who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden. “How can the country that is holding Jonathan Pollard in prison for close to 30 years claim that we do not have the right to judge a spy in our own country as we see fit?” Maleeha Lodhi, the former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., said during an interview over the weekend with CBS. “The country that put Jonathan Pollard away for spying for its close ally, Israel, should understand that other countries, too, punish those who spy for an erstwhile ally."
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#1. To: Brian S, *The Two Parties ARE the Same* (#0)
Even more outrageous than the D&R effort to free a spy.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
. I agree that Jonathan Pollard should NOT be in prison. He should be released immediately, to a hangman's noose, and HANGED by his neck until he is DEAD. F' him, and all who defend him.
Spoiled, stupid and ignorant, brain dead phuckwads, libTURD fools, tools, and idiots, are the real sickness; the messiah "king" obammy and his regime are only the symptoms.
He should be released immediately, to a hangman's noose, and HANGED by his neck until he is DEAD. Naw, it's too much fun watching all of these "patriotic" Congressmen twist in the wind over Pollard's imprisonment. I hope Pollard lasts another 25 years in prison. The entertainment value is too good to give up.
Cool. Now take him out and shoot him and sell the body back to Israel for the expense of housing him all these years and for what the firing squad cost.
"It is impossible to talk reason with those who can only parrot Party Slogans." sneakypete Sept 2011 Stay Hungry...Stay Foolish --Steve Jobs Steve Jobs,life-long Dim,and major Barry Soetoro supporter.
Just GREAT! A congress that can't fix anything with the nation is motivated to release a known Israeli spy. Anything to do with the ADL? Naw...
Israeli President Shimon Peres visits the United States, where he is scheduled to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama on Wednesday
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
#3. To: Mad Dog (#2)
I agree that Jonathan Pollard should NOT be in prison.
we must as a species go into a period of shrinkage that we have not experienced since the Dark Ages and the Black Plague -- lucysmom (A.K.A. minnigold)
#4. To: Brian S (#0)
"Mr. Pollard has now served more than 25 years in prison, many of which in solitary confinement, for his actions.
#5. To: Brian S (#0)
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