President Clinton has renewed his campaign pledge to consider the case of Jonathan Pollard, the former U.S. Navy analyst now serving a life sentence for passing military secrets to Israel.
Responding to a letter requesting clemency for Pollard, sent by Abe Plotkin of Scranton, Pa., Clinton wrote that he was waiting for the Justice Department to review the case and recommend a course of action.
“Once I receive their recommendation, I will give consideration to all the relevant facts in order to make a fair and just determination,” the president wrote.
Pollard, who is currently serving time at a federal penitentiary in Butner, N.C., first filed for commutation of his sentence in December 1992. Outgoing President Bush turned down the request the day before Clinton took office.
A new petition was quickly filed, well before the new administration began the slow process of naming a new attorney general.
His choice, Janet Reno, is regarded as sympathetic to many Jewish concerns. But she is also a strong believer in law and order, and it is not known how she would come down on the Pollard case.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
