Let the AIPAC Spy Trial Begin
Why prosecuting Weissman and Rosen matters
by Grant F. Smith
Judge T.S. Ellis III has offered a rare second opportunity to the Rosen and Weissman defense team. They again made their case that the indictment of the two former AIPAC lobbyists was “trampling on their 1st Amendment rights.” Although Judge Ellis established an August 2006 trial date, he continues to consider a motion to dismiss charges altogether.
In a similar March 2006, hearing, the defense concentrated on portraying the 1917 Espionage Act as fundamentally flawed and unconstitutional. The indictment charges Rosen and Weissman with violating sections of the Act by having “unlawful possession” of “information relating to the national defense.” Written in 1917 and never updated, the Espionage Act does not use the term “classified” when referring to national defense information. The law’s musty antiquity offers the defendants abundant openings for attack. (more…)