Jonathan Pollard, 59, a Texan born to Jewish parents, was convicted of espionage in 1987 after handing Israeli intelligence officials thousands of classified documents procured in his role as an intelligence analyst with the U.S. Navy.

SECRETS

Detractors describe Pollard as a mercenary who sold secrets to the highest bidder. He received thousands of dollars from Israeli officials, as well as the diamond engagement ring he gave his first wife when they got engaged. However, CIA documents released in December 2012 show Pollard was never interested in “US military activities, plans, capabilities, or equipment.” Pollard passed along information on “PLO headquarters in Tunisia; specific capabilities of Tunisian and Libyan air defense systems; Iraqi and Syrian chemical warfare productions capabilities (including detailed satellite imagery); Soviet arms shipments to Syria and other Arab states; naval forces, port facilities, and lines of communication of various Middle Eastern and North African countries; the MiG-29 fighter; and Pakistan’s nuclear program. Also included was a U.S. assessment of Israeli military capabilities.”

PLEA DEAL

Pollard pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators in a plea bargain deal to avoid a life sentence. But the deal was quashed by the judge under the direction of Caspar Weinberger, then-secretary of state. It was alleged Pollard violated the terms of the deal when he gave an interview to Wolf Blitzer, then a reporter with [ital]The Jerusalem Post[end ital]. But Pollard’s family claimed there was never a ban on him speaking to the press and Mr Blitzer later said it appeared approval for the interview was “part of a calculated scheme” by prosecutors to violate the plea agreement.

BARGAINING CHIP

It’s not the first time Pollard has been used as a bargaining chip in Mid-East peace negotiations. President Bill Clinton proposed freeing Pollard during the Wye negotiations, an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in 1998. However, a pardon for Pollard was ruled out when George Tenet, the CIA head, allegedly threatened to resign. Mr. Tenet later denied saying he would quit over the issue only to write a book years later saying that he did threaten to resign.

POLITICIANS

Numerous Israeli political leaders have called for Pollard’s release. Several years ago, current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu even visited the spy in prison. When Barack Obama was elected president it was hoped that an agreement securing Pollard’s release could be secured. But in 2011, Vice-President Joe Biden was reported in The New York Times as saying: “President Obama was considering clemency but I told him, ‘Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time’.”