Israeli lobby spy case suggests new push to keep leaks from reporters

When Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin decided to plead guilty Thursday to passing classified intelligence to two pro-Israeli lobbyists, it marked another advance by the Bush Justice Department to clamp down on leaks.

Franklin will testify against two former officials for the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee who were charged Aug. 4 with "conspiracy to communicate" classified intelligence about alleged threats to Americans and Israelis in northern Iraq. Previously, conspiracy charges relating to top secret materials have been leveled against individuals who were bound by a confidentiality agreement with the government.

In this case, however, the Justice Department extended the cloak of secrecy beyond the Pentagon, quietly expanding the power of the government to jail those who talk to the press, watchdogs and reporters’ advocates tell RAW STORY.