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Feds Drop Spying Charges Against AIPAC Lobbyists

Earlier rulings made conviction unlikely: gov't

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted May 1, 2009 10:12 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Government prosecutors say they will move to dismiss the espionage case against a pair of former AIPAC lobbyists linked to Rep. Jane Harman, the Washington Post reports. Prosecutors said they probably wouldn’t be able to secure a conviction because of the “additional intent requirement imposed by the court,” and were worried about the “inevitable disclosure of classified information” a trial would bring.

Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman were charged in 2005 for conspiring to pass classified information to journalists and the Israeli government. The trial was set to begin June 2, but pretrial rulings in two courts allowed the defense to produce classified evidence and required the government to show the men knew disclosing the information would harm the US—conditions prosecutors said made the case untenable.

Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference 2008, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference 2008, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Former American Israel Public Affairs Committee official Keith Weissman walks in to U.S. District Court in this Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 file photo.
Former American Israel Public Affairs Committee official Keith Weissman walks in to U.S. District Court in this Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 file photo.   (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
US Attorney General Eric Holder arrives for talks with Germany's Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
US Attorney General Eric Holder arrives for talks with Germany's Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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Department of Justice • US attorney • espionage • spy • AIPAC • Steven Rosen • Keith Weissman

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