What a moment for the Obama administration to leak word that it is considering releasing Jonathan Pollard. He is being held at a federal prison in North Carolina on a life sentence. Almost 30 years ago, he’d pled to a single count of passing defense information to, in Israel, a friendly nation. The Iran accord is coming up for a vote in the Congress. Israel is warning about appeasement. Could there be a connection? The Wall Street Journal quotes administration sources as suggesting there is.
This wouldn’t be the first time President Obama has played politics with Pollard. As recently as last spring the administration proffered the possibility of springing Pollard as part of what the Reuters called “an emerging deal to salvage Middle East peace talks.” Better the spy should sit in prison, we said at the time. If Pollard doesn’t deserve to be let out, we wrote, no release should be countenanced. If he does, no deal should be asked — leastwise one that demands Israel give up its legitimate claims.