FBI SET UP OF AIPAC CONFIRMED

FBI setup in AIPAC case confirmed By JANINE ZACHARIA
Members of Congress have expressed anger and dismay over Sunday's report in The Jerusalem Post describing how the FBI set up the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. Plato Cacheris, the lawyer for Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin, who was used by the FBI to plant "classified" information with trusting AIPAC officials, has confirmed the accuracy of the Post's report. Cacheris added that Franklin broke off contact with the FBI because he was "disappointed in their response to his assistance."

Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the US, Daniel Ayalon, has declined to comment on the Post's account of an AIPAC official giving the information planted by Franklin – which related to possible Iranian threats to the lives of Israelis operating in Iraq – to an embassy diplomat. And an Israeli Embassy spokesman told the Post that the embassy has not been approached by the FBI over the case.

The Post's exclusive report on Sunday presented the inside story of the spying-for-Israel allegations swirling around AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee). AIPAC has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and the Post's publication of details of the case has strengthened a demand from members of Congress for a briefing from the Justice Department on the investigation. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York), one of those seeking the briefing, told the Post they have received no response to date. "I think it's very disconcerting to think that an investigating agency of the United States, while investigating the alleged misdeeds of a [Pentagon] employee [Franklin], would look to cut some kind of deal with him if they believe he committed a crime and to give him a better deal if they could get some Jews instead," said Ackerman. "They are trying at any length to disrupt the work of a very successful prestigious American organization that advocates American foreign policy in the Middle East for a better relationship with Israel," Ackerman added.