Full Release - IRmep

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Swiergrosz, confirmed that "Dr. Franklin is still a u.s. government
employee," but declined to identify his position. Haaretz has learned
that Franklin has been moved to a post different from the one he held
previously and kept from handling classified information.
From AlPAC's standpoint, the issue at hand is containment: can the
affair be limited to Rosen and Weissman, or is the investigation
directed at the lobby as a whole? It is clear that the FBI has as its
objective an extensive investigation against AlPAC. Investigators
have been looking into AlPAC's entire manner ofoperating, notjust
in the Franklin instance. An official questioned twice by the FBI, ..as a
witness, was astounded by itlvestigators' intimate familiarity with
AIPAC. "They know everything there. They asked very precise
questions regarding the organization's operations," he said.
The intended breadth ofthe investigation is also evident from the
FBI's dramatic moves - raiding AlPAC offices in December and
issuing subpoenas to its four top executives. Executive Director
Howard Kohr, Managing Director Richard Fishman, Research
Director Rafael Danziger and Communications Director Renee
Rothstein appeared before the investigative jury and were questioned
at length.
Investigators also reportedly tried to use Franklin, after th_e affair
'erupted, to incriminate as many senior AlPAC officials as possible.
The Jerusalem Post reported four months ago.that investigators
informed Franklin ofthe suspicions against him and asked for his
cooperation. In a sting operation, he received information from the
FBI agents that Iran was planning to attack Israelis operating in the
Kurdish region in Iraq. Franklin, at the FBI's instructions, telephoned
AIPAC's Rosen and Weissman and gave them the information, and
they rushed to pass it on to Israeli diplomats, thereby falling into the
FBI trap,
AIPAC refuses to comment on the case, saying, "We do not comment
on personnel matters!' A spokesman for AlPAC, Patrick Dorton, said
Thursday that "it would not be appropriate for AlPAC to comment on
issues that have to do with an ongoing federal investigation."
The suspension ofthe two AlPAC officials, though never officially
explained, is certainly a key turning point in the case. According to
one assessment, AIPAC understands that regardless ofwhether a plea
bargain is reached, it will be tough to get those two offthe hook, so
AlPAC is keeping its distance for now. Their lawyer, Nathan Lewin,
refused requests from Haaretz·for a comment.