Officials: Israel spy Pollard granted parole, to be freed in November

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Jonathan Pollard, who spent the last 30 years in a U.S. prison for spying for Israel, has been granted parole and is due to be released in November, officials said Tuesday.

 

The decision, confirmed by his attorneys and the Justice Department, followed a parole hearing earlier this month before the U.S. Parole Commission. It comes at a tense time between the U.S. and Israeli governments, which are at odds over the recently struck Iran nuclear deal.

 

Pollard, 60, an American, has been imprisoned since November 1985 on charges that he was selling classified information to Israel. He was arrested as he tried unsuccessfully to gain asylum in Israel's Washington embassy.

 

Since then, the case has stoked passions and divided opinions, with supporters arguing that he was punished excessively given that he spied for a country that's a U.S. ally.

 

Critics -- including prosecutors and government officials -- call him a traitor who damaged the nation by disclosing a trove of sensitive documents.

 

The Obama administration says the U.S. is following the law with his release.

 

"The Department of Justice has always maintained that Jonathan Pollard should serve his full sentence for the serious crimes he committed, which in this case is a 30-year sentence, as mandated by statute, ending Nov. 21, 2015," the Justice Department said in a statement.

________

 

Spy game over.