June 19, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Aaron Troodler

(888) 897-7450

MEMBER OF HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: POLLARD POSES NO THREAT TO
NATIONAL SECURITY, SHOULD BE RELEASED

Representative Robert Andrews (D-NJ) is the latest member of Congress to
formally urge President Obama to commute Jonathan Pollard's sentence to time
served (the full text of Congressman Andrews' letter to the President
appears below and a copy is attached).

In his letter to the President and Attorney General Eric Holder, Congressman
Andrews, who is a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, notes
that Pollard's release poses no threat to national security. He also notes
the disproportionate nature of Pollard's sentence and remarks that he was
sentenced to life in prison without benefit of trial, as the result of a
plea agreement which Pollard honored and the government abrogated.

Pollard has spent more than 26 years of an unprecedented life sentence
languishing in a federal prison for passing classified information to
Israel, an ally of the United States. The median sentence for this offense
is 2 to 4 years. No one else in the history of the United States has ever
received a life sentence for this offense.

"I write to you out of concern for the ailing Jonathan Pollard and request
that you commute his sentence to time-served, a position supported by former
CIA director James Woolsey, former Chair of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence Dennis DeConcini, and former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger," wrote Congressman Andrews in his letter to the President.

"If Mr. Pollard were released today he would pose no threat to national
security and any intelligence that he once possessed is undoubtedly
irrelevant 27 years later," continued Congressman Andrews. "Commutation
will not grant him pardon for his actions rather it will recognize that he
has served more than ample time for his crime. I urge you to seriously
consider this case and decide to commute Jonathan Pollard's life sentence to
time-served."

In addition to serving on the House Committee on Armed Services, Congressman
Andrews, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1990, is
a member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, as well
as the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, and he is the Ranking
Member on the Panel on Defense Acquisition Reform. Congressman Andrews also
serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, is the Ranking
Member on the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, and is
a member of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.

Congressman Andrews' letter to the President comes as a bi-partisan "Dear
Colleague" letter is being circulated in the U.S. House of Representatives
in support of clemency for Jonathan Pollard. Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY)
and Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) are soliciting signatures on a
letter to President Obama, which urges the President to commute Pollard's
sentence to time served.

Numerous American leaders have called for a commutation of Pollard's
sentence, including former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger; former
Secretary of State George Shultz; former CIA Director James Woolsey; former
Attorney General Michael Mukasey; former National Security Advisor Robert
McFarlane; former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb; former White
House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum; former Chairman of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence Senator Dennis DeConcini; former Senator David
Durenberger, who served as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence at the time of Pollard's conviction; former Congressman Lee
Hamilton, who served as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the
time of Jonathan Pollard's sentencing; and Senators John McCain and Charles
Schumer.

Pollard has repeatedly expressed his remorse publicly and in private in
letters to many Presidents and others. His health has deteriorated
significantly during his more than two-and-a-half decades in prison.

Despite the fact that Pollard entered into a plea agreement and fully
cooperated with the prosecution in his case, he nonetheless received a life
sentence and a recommendation that he never be paroled, which was in
complete violation of the plea agreement he had reached with the government.

The following is the text of Congressman Andrews' letter to President Obama:

June 13, 2012

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500-0001

Dear Mr. President:

I write to you out of concern for the ailing Jonathan Pollard and request
that you commute his sentence to time-served, a position supported by former
CIA director James Woolsey, former Chair of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence Dennis DeConcini, and former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger. Mr. Pollard was arrested for spying for and giving classified
documents to Israel, a close friend and ally of the United States. He has
now been incarcerated for 27 on the charge of one count of espionage.

In exchange for bypassing a trial, Pollard pled guilty in exchange for a
lighter sentence; however, the court reneged on its promise and gave him the
maximum sentence of life in prison with the recommendation that he be denied
parole. The length of this sentence is unprecedented as the median sentence
for passing classified intelligence to an ally is between two and four
years. In fact, Mr. Pollard has served even longer than many who have been
convicted of spying for enemies of the United States.

If Mr. Pollard were released today he would pose no threat to national
security and any intelligence that he once possessed is undoubtedly
irrelevant 27 years later. Commutation will not grant him pardon for his
actions rather it will recognize that he has served more than ample time for
his crime. I urge you to seriously consider this case and decide to commute
Jonathan Pollard's life sentence to time-served.

Sincerely,

Robert E. Andrews

Member of Congress

Cc: Eric Holder, United States Attorney General

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Aaron Troodler
Paul Revere Public Relations, LLC
(888) 897-7450 (phone & fax)
www.PaulReverePR.com
http://twitter.com/troodler