Washington – A former Pentagon analyst on Iran pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to channel classified Defense Department secrets to an Israeli Embassy official and a pro-Israel lobbying group.
Lawrence Franklin, 58, told the court that he did so out of frustration with a particular U.S. policy in the Middle East, without going into detail. He faces as much as 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
As part of a plea agreement, Franklin agreed to cooperate in the upcoming prosecution of two recently fired officials of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee. They were indicted for conspiring to receive and disseminate the classified information.
Prosecutors and U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty would not comment on how Franklin was supposed to help them. They would also not say if the Justice Department was investigating whether anyone else was involved in such a criminal conspiracy.
