Pollard's Attorney Responds to President Clinton

May 7, 1996 - Larry Dub

Dear President Clinton,

As you know, this office represents Mr. Jonathan J. Pollard currently serving his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina.

On December 6, 1995, I filed a Petition for Commutation of Sentence on behalf of Mr. Pollard. As an attachment to the petition, I enclosed a detailed letter which, among other matters, focused on the issue of my client's remorse,

Last week, the Israeli press featured a detailed article in which you were quoted as saying that if Mr. Pollard would show remorse for his actions, it would help his case.

With all due respect, Mr. President, my client's remorse is a matter of record. At sentencing, Jonathan Pollard made a detailed statement of remorse, and has reiterated his remorse both verbally and in writing on numerous occasions over the last eleven years. This includes the letters he has sent to numerous newspapers throughout the country detailing his remorse and expressing his regrets.

Unfortunately, the remorse issue continues to be exploited as both an opportunity and an excuse. It is an excuse for some who wish to avoid taking responsibility for rectifying what appellate Justice Steven Williams termed "a fundamental and complete miscarriage of justice". It is an opportunity for others to keep moving the goal posts, for no matter how often or how heart-wrenchingly Jonathan Pollard expresses remorse, it is never enough.

Allow me to assure you Mr. President, one does not spend eleven years in prison, most of it in harsh circumstances and total isolation, without feeling and expressing sincere remorse. Nevertheless, my client stands ready to make a sworn deposition of remorse at your pleasure.

Recent events related to the espionage community make the disproportionality of my client's case stand out even more markedly. I refer to the case Lt. Commander Michael Schwartz (a non-Jew) who was indicted for spying for another ally, Saudi Arabia, who was let off without ever serving a day in prison. I refer also to those traitors who committed treason by spying for the worse enemy of the United States, Clayton Lontree and William Kampiles. Both of these traitors recently were granted early release. My client did not spy for an enemy. He is not a traitor and did not commit treason. He is serving the longest, harshest sentence in the history of the United States for anyone convicted of a similar offence.

In the interests of restoring the principal of equal justice for all Americans, and especially in the light of Prime Minister Peres' personal appeals to you to show clemency to Jonathan Pollard, the facts cry out for you to act now and grant Mr. Pollard's request for commutation of sentence to time served.

Israel has granted Mr. Pollard citizenship, and is willing to accept responsibility for his actions now, and in the future. All my client wants is a chance to go home to his wife and to live a quiet and productive life as a private citizen. Please give him a chance to do so.

If I can be of any assistance to you or furnish you with any further documents that may help you in coming to your decision, please feel free to call upon me.

Respectfully submitted,

Larry Dub

cc: Margaret Colgate Love, Pardon Attorney
John M. Quinn, Legal Counsel to the President