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CIA reportedly ‘alarmed’ by the meeting, which broke a longstanding argumentation of not speaking with convicted spies.
Published On 21 Nov 2025
The White House has said it was unaware that a gathering took spot earlier this twelvemonth betwixt United States ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Jonathan Pollard, a erstwhile US Navy serviceman who was convicted of spying for Israel and jailed for decades.
Speaking to reporters connected Thursday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said that portion the Trump medication had nary beforehand cognition of the meeting, “the president stands by our ambassador, Mike Huckabee, and each that helium is doing for the United States and Israel”.
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Huckabee met Pollard successful July astatine the US embassy successful Jerusalem, The New York Times revealed connected Thursday.
The gathering was reportedly not connected Huckabee’s authoritative docket and took spot without the cognition of US quality agencies, The Times reported, quoting 2 unnamed US officials.
Former US Navy quality expert Pollard was tried and convicted successful 1987 for passing thousands of highly classified US materials to Israel successful speech for currency and gifts. He was sentenced to beingness successful prison, the harshest punishment ever fixed to idiosyncratic for spying for an ally.
Pollard served 30 years earlier being paroled successful 2015 and moving to Israel successful 2020. He is regarded by immoderate successful Israel arsenic a hero.
Israelis clasp posters of Jonathan Pollard, who was convicted of spying for Israel, during a protestation calling for his release, successful Jerusalem, successful 2011 [Sebastian Scheiner/AP]The lawsuit severely strained US-Israel relations astatine the clip and is inactive seen arsenic 1 of the astir damaging breaches of classified accusation successful US history.
In a televised interrogation with Israel’s i24 News outlet connected Thursday, Pollard said the gathering with Huckabee had taken spot astatine his request.
“I had primitively requested the interrogation for a precise idiosyncratic reason,” helium said.
“I wanted to explicit my sincere appreciation for each the efforts that helium [Huckabee] had expended connected my behalf erstwhile I was successful prison,” helium added.
Pollard said that helium believed idiosyncratic wrong the CIA stationed astatine the US embassy successful Israel leaked accusation astir the gathering to the media successful an “effort to discredit” the ambassador and “have him removed” from his post.
“I deliberation the radical down this are anti-Israel elements wrong the Trump administration,” helium said.
It remains unclear whether Huckabee sought Trump medication support earlier gathering with Pollard. But the CIA were “alarmed” by quality of the meeting, according to sources who spoke to The Times, arsenic it was a breach of longstanding signifier among US officials not to talk with convicted spies.
Huckabee, a staunch Israel protagonist and governmental state of President Donald Trump, antecedently advocated for Pollard’s merchandise portion moving for the Republican statesmanlike information successful 2011.
In his interrogation with i24 News, Pollard slammed members of the Trump administration, criticising peculiar envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who person taken starring roles successful bid talks to extremity Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.
“I despise Witkoff and Kushner, they were consenting to conscionable with terrorists who massacred america connected October 7 [2023],” helium said.
English (US) ·