‘Enormous’ Data Sold to Israel : Pollard Spy Damage Held as Bad as Any in History

Jonathan Jay Pollard’s spying for Israel dealt as serious a blow to national security as any other reported espionage case in U.S. history, prosecutors said in court papers released Wednesday.

“The breadth and volume of the U.S. classified information sold by defendant to Israel was enormous, as great as in any reported case involving espionage on behalf of any foreign nation,” federal prosecutors said in a 16-page memo filed in the case of the convicted spy.

The government said the damage resulting from Pollard’s spying exceeds that caused by former National Security Agency employee Ronald W. Pelton, who was convicted last year of selling classified electronic surveillance secrets to the Soviets.

Cases Contrasted

“Pelton compromised specific intelligence-gathering methods in a specific area and damaged the U.S. position relative to the Soviet Union,” the government said.

But Pollard “compromised a breadth and volume of classified information as great as in any reported espionage case and adversely affected U.S. interests vis-a-vis numerous countries, including, potentially, the Soviet Union,” the prosecutors said.

They disclosed also that Pollard, who was paid more than $50,000 by the Israelis, expected to earn “10 times that amount” for continued spying. But he was arrested on Nov. 21, 1985, outside the Israeli Embassy, where he had sought asylum.

The government’s statement was filed in opposition to a request by Pollard for information about other spy cases before his sentencing for espionage, set for March 4.

Pleaded Guilty

Pollard, 32, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy, pleaded guilty last summer to charges that he sold a vast array of military secrets to Israel.

His wife, Anne Henderson-Pollard, pleaded guilty to lesser charges and awaits sentencing by U.S. District Judge Aubrey Robinson.

In a request filed by his attorney, Richard Hibey, Pollard sought government files containing evidence of espionage committed by any American citizen on behalf of Israel, in an attempt to document his contention that the Justice Department chose not to prosecute other individuals detained on charges that they spied for Israel.

The government denied that charge, quoting Justice Department officials as saying they were “unaware of any prior instance of espionage committed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of Israel in exchange for money.”

The government officially disclosed also that Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger had filed a 46-page assessment of the damage to national security resulting from Pollard’s spying. The Weinberger memo was filed with the court on Jan. 9.

Pollard faces up to life in prison and his wife up to 10 years.