Summary

NAME: US SPY PROBE 040505N TAPE: EF05/0402 IN_TIME: 10:46:31:09 DURATION: 00:02:01:21 SOURCES: APTN DATELINE: Alexandria, Washington DC - 4 May 2005/FILE RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: Alexandria, Virginia - 4 May 2005 1 Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin walking from parking garage outside courthouse 2 Cameras chasing Franklin 3 Exterior of Federal District Courthouse 4 Entrance to courthouse 5 Court sketch of Franklin with attorney John Richards 6 Closeup of Franklin 7 Various court sketches Washington DC - Undated File 8 Aerial shot of Pentagon 9 Pullout from sign to wide of FBI headquarters Washington DC - 18 May 2004 10 US President George W Bush entering auditorium at AIPAC (American-Israeli Political Action Committee) meeting 11 Bush greeting AIPAC members 12 Members cheering Washington DC - 14 April 2004 13 Bush meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at White House FILE Location unknown - 4 March 1987 14 Wide shot of Jonathan Pollard, former naval intelligence officer who gave top-secret documents to Israel Alexandria, Virginia - 4 May 2005 15 Franklin attorney John Richards stepping to microphones 16 Cameras 17 SOUNDBITE: (English) John Richards, Larry Franklin's attorney: We intend to plead 'not guilty', we plan to vigorously defend the case, and we expect that the judicial system is going to exonerate him 18 Cameras 19 Franklin exiting courthouse 20 Franklin crossing road STORYLINE: The FBI arrested a Defence Department analyst on Wednesday on charges that he passed classified information about potential Iranian-backed attacks against US forces in Iraq to employees of a pro-Israel group Larry Franklin, 58, turned himself in on Wednesday and made a brief appearance in a suburban US District Court and was released on a 100-thousand US dollar bond under the condition he surrender his firearms and passport The single charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years A preliminary hearing was set for May 27 Franklin's lawyer, John Richards, said he expects his client will plead not-guilty The charge is the first in an investigation dating to 2001 about whether Israel improperly obtained classified US information Franklin, who specialised on Iran and Middle Eastern affairs and had clearance to review top secret information, allegedly gave information to two people without clearance at a lunch meeting in June 2003, FBI agent Catherine Hanna said in an affidavit accompanying the criminal complaint Hanna said Franklin acknowledged at the lunch that the information was highly classified and asked the two people not to use it The people at the lunch were employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a law enforcement official said on condition of anonymity because they are not identified in court papers The law enforcement official said it concerned possible attacks against US troops by Iranian-backed groups in Iraq FBI agents twice searched AIPAC offices as part of the investigation and have interviewed two AIPAC employees about whether Franklin gave them classified information that wound up in Israel's hands AIPAC said it gave the FBI files related to those same two employees, who previously were identified as Steve Rosen, the director of research, and Keith Weissman, deputy director of foreign policy issues Neither still works for the group AIPAC declined to comment on Wednesday, but has previously said it had done nothing wrong and was cooperating with the investigation The Justice Department said Franklin's top secret security clearance was suspended in June 2004 He formerly worked in the office of policy undersecretary Douglas Feith The suspension followed a search of Franklin's West Virginia home that turned up 83 classified documents Franklin holds a doctorate in Asian studies and is a colonel in the Air Force Reserves The Israeli government has denied spying on the United States, saying that meetings between US and Israeli officials are common and that the two countries share many secrets Israel said it has imposed a ban on espionage in the United States since the scandal over Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy caught spying for Israel in 1985 and sentenced to life in prison