After various reports, including one by the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials on Friday denied that the Obama administration was considering early release for Jonathan Pollard, Reuters reports.
The Justice Department said Pollard must serve his full 30-year sentence. It stressed that he has long been eligible for consideration for parole in November but insisted that the administration has no say in how that process unfolds.
One U.S. official rejected the notion that Pollard’s release would have anything to do with trying to smooth tense relations with Israel over President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, which Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu fiercely opposes.
The Journal reported that some U.S. officials are pushing for Pollard’s release in a matter of weeks, while others expect it could take months, possibly at his parole consideration date in November.
The Justice Department said it “has always and continues to maintain that Jonathan Pollard should serve his full sentence for the serious crimes he committed.”
“Mr. Pollard’s status will be determined by the United States Parole Commission according to standard procedures,” said Alistair Baskey, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council. “There is absolutely zero linkage between Mr. Pollard’s status and foreign policy considerations.”
{Gavriel Sitrit-Matzav.com Newscenter}
This is non-news. Pollard’s release date has always been November 21, 2015. Obama has no say over that.