Hayden: Releasing Pollard as Part of Mideast Deal Sends ‘Very Disturbing’ Message

Hayden: Pollard Release Would Signal Willingness to Negotiate on Snowden (National Review Online)

The intelligence community would see the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard as a signal of the administration’s willingness grant clemency to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, according to former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden. “They would believe that this kind of behavior could actually be politically negotiated away, and that would be a very disturbing message for the people who provide America with intelligence,” he told Fox News’ Chris Wallace on Sunday. 

The Obama administration has confirmed that it is considering the early release of Pollard as part of an effort to keep Israeli-Palestinian peace talks alive. It has not indicated it would consider granting Snowden clemency for his acts as part of a larger deal, though attorney general Eric Holder has said he is open to a “conversation” and to discussing a possible plea bargain under which Snowden would return to the United States.