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del.icio.us Digg It!  new AIPAC trial judge lets defense subpoena Rice and Hadley By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters tags: israel The United States judge presiding over the trial of two former AIPAC staffers accused of giving Israel classified information approved Friday subpoenas for top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, former senior staffers at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are accused of conspiring with a former Pentagon analyst to communicate U.S. defense information to persons not entitled to receive it, including foreign government officials, policy analysts and the media. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia has approved 16 of the 20 subpoenas of current and former officials requested by the defense. Advertisement Rosen and Weissman had asked to subpoena the officials, with whom they held meetings, saying, "The testimony of these persons will negate the government's contention that the information defendants obtained and disclosed was NDI [National Defense Information] by showing that this information was neither closely held by the U.S. government, nor were the disclosures of this information damaging to the U.S." The defendants argue that the U.S. government's use of AIPAC as a "back channel" to advance U.S. foreign policy goals calls into question whether they could have been expected to know that they were committing a crime by passing on the information. The government opposed 16 of the requests, including those to call Rice and Hadley to testify. The judge overruled most of the objections, saying the "defendants are entitled to show that, to them, there was simply no difference between the meetings for which they are not charged and those for which they are charged ... and that they believed that the meetings charged in the indictment were simply further examples of the government's use of AIPAC as a diplomatic back channel." Rosen's attorney Abbe Lowell issued a statement on both defendants' behalf praising the ruling, saying it would help the defense prove that his client's behavior was both "lawful" and "completely consistent" with AIPAC's practices. The trial has been scheduled to begin in January. Among the other subpoenas approved were for White House deputy national security adviser Elliott Abrams, former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz and former undersecretary of defense Douglas Feith. A former Pentagon analyst, Lawrence Franklin, has pleaded guilty to disclosing information to Rosen and Weissman from early 2002 through June 2004. Ellis also approved a subpoena for Franklin. Asked about the Rice subpoena, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, "We are not going to comment on an ongoing legal matter. I would refer you to the Department of Justice." A Justice Department spokesman had no comment. Bookmark to del.icio.us Academic freedom The High Court has challenged strict IDF criteria for the entry of Palestinian students. Rapping rabbi British Jewish rapper MC Rebbe is a finalist in the world's largest blog competition.

Today Online Court challenges criteria for Palestinian student entry to Israel Responses: 115 Turkey seeks right to build monument in Jerusalem's Old City Responses: 142 IAF strikes kill four Palestinians after Qassams hit Negev Responses: 236 Leftists scuffle with supporters of Rabin's assassin outside jail Responses: 118 Olmert: Core issues are on the agenda for Annapolis summit Responses: 202 More Headlines 23:51 Olmert: Core issues are on the Annapolis agenda 20:12 Three East J'lem men arrested for planning attacks in Israel 18:47 IDF strikes kill 4 Gazans as Qassam volleys hit Negev 01:37 Beitar J'lem soccer fans boo Rabin before draw with Maccabi Haifa 20:49 Gov't okays payments for overlooked Holocaust survivors 17:51 Protesters scuffle with supporters of Rabin's assassin outside jail 20:39 Palestinian factions DFLP, PFLP attempt to mediate between Hamas, Fatah 19:35 'Rapping rabbi' makes finals in world's largest blog competition 19:11 PA awards former Mideast envoys Wolfensohn, Hansen prize for excellence 16:57 Egypt unveils King Tut's mummy to the public for the first time Previous Editions Select Day 04 nov 02 nov 01 nov 31 oct 30 oct 29 oct 28 oct 26 oct 25 oct 24 oct 23 oct 22 oct

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