Steve J. Rosen - Indictment Alleging Violation of The Espionage Act

Indictment Alleging Violation of The Espionage Act

Rosen’s career took a dramatic turn on August 27, 2004, when CBS News broadcast a report alleging that “A spy is working for Israel at the Pentagon… The suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials…passing classified information…to two men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis... a presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran.” On screen, CBS showed an image of a document titled “Presidential Directive: U.S. Policy Toward Iran,” and a file folder marked “classified” being passed from a man labeled “suspected spy” to a box marked with the AIPAC logo, and from there to Israel symbolized by its flag. The same day, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents, accompanied by media camera crews, raided the AIPAC offices with a warrant to inspect the paper and electronic files of Steven Rosen.

The CBS report and the FBI raid were followed by a period of intense worldwide media attention to the allegation that AIPAC was enmeshed in an espionage scandal of major proportions. Critics of AIPAC and Israel saw validation for their thesis that pro-Israel advocacy is inimical to the American national interest, and for their belief that many Jews are more loyal to Israel than America.

Lawrence Franklin, the Pentagon official in the case, was indicted on May 26, 2005, and Rosen and Weissman were indicted on August 4, 2005.

The prosecution was brought under various sections of the Espionage Act, for example 18 U.S.C. § 793. Some of the laws had been on the books since 1917. One of the provisions under which Rosen and Weissman were indicted—section 793(e)--was added to the statute in 1950 under the McCarran Internal Security Act. The case largely hinged on a telephone conversation between the two men and Washington Post reporter Glenn Kessler