Court filings describe Israel lobby dealing in US classified information

JTA - It was a case that transfixed the pro-Israel community: the arrest in August 2005 on espionage charges of two senior officials at the most influential pro-Israel group in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Before the government dropped the case in May 2009 …, AIPAC fired the two men: foreign policy chief Steve Rosen and Iran analyst Keith Weissman. … Rosen has filed a defamation lawsuit demanding $20 million from his former employer ….

The filings by Rosen’s lawyers aim to undermine AIPAC’s claim that the decision in March 2005 to fire him and Weissman was based on the revelation that the two dealt in classified information. Rather, the documents allege, AIPAC approved in some circumstances of dealing in classified information.

The court case is significant because it shows the inner workings of AIPAC, a lobbying group that both enemies and supporters call one of Washington’s most powerful and feared lobbies. … In their court filings, Rosen’s lawyers describe two earlier cases in which AIPAC defended and praised Rosen and another employee for receiving apparently classified information and passing it along. Read more