"In the course of my own interviews for this account, the officials who knew the most about Jonathan Pollard made it clear that they were talking because they no longer had confidence that President Clinton would do what they believed was the right thing -- keep Pollard locked up. Pollard, these officials told me, had done far more damage to American national security than was ever made known to the public; for example, he betrayed elements of four major American intelligence systems. In their eyes, there is no distinction between betraying secrets to an enemy, such as the Soviet Union, and betraying secrets to an ally.
"Officials are loath to talk publicly about it, but spying on allies is a fact of life: the United States invests billions annually to monitor the communications of its friends. Many American embassies around the world contain a clandestine intercept facility that targets diplomatic communications. The goal is not only to know the military and diplomatic plans of our friends but also to learn what intelligence they may be receiving and with whom they share information. "If a friendly state has friends that we don't see as friends," one senior official explained, sensitive intelligence that it should not possess -- such as that supplied by Pollard -- "can spread to others." Many officials said they were convinced that information Pollard sold to the Israelis had ultimately wound up in the hands of the Soviet Union."
Why Pollard Should Never Be Released (The Traitor)SEYMOUR M. HERSH
The New Yorker Magazine, January 18, 1999, pp. 26-33
So Pollard was convicted under United States Code; TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 37, § 794.
Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government
He was handing off suitcases full of stuff to the Israelis. The Israelis lied about it.
Pollard was, however, an American citizen, born in Texas, stealing stuff he had promised not to disclose, in order to "aid foreign government."
Julian Assange is not an American, was born in Townsville, Queensland, and has not gathered or delivered information to aid any foreign government. He has, rather, gathered information to aid the entire planet, so we can all know what the hell is going on.
Mr. Holder, the world is watching, just like it was watching Omar Kahadr's kangaroo court trial in Guanatamo. Good luck with that.
