Charges against CIA Employee under the Espionage Act could expose Israel's Corruption of the U.S. Department of Justice

National Defense of what Nation, Mr. Garland?

In what might turn out to be the “trial of the century,” Asif William Rahman, reported to be a CIA employee by the New York Times, has been indicted for mishandling classified document under the Espionage Act. On October 17, 2024, Rahman allegedly leaked military capabilities of Israel as Israel prepared to strike Iran.

According to the Intercept, Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards in Guam said that the leaks forced Israel to delay an attack against Iran.

While charges of mishandling classified documents appears to be well-founded, the use of the Espionage Act to bring these charges is outrageous. There are other ways to bring charges of mishandling classified documents without using the Espionage Act. Hillary Clinton, for instance, was investigated by the FBI in 2016 for mishandling classified documents, but no one said a word about Espionage. Although the FBI Director utimately determined that although Clinton had in fact mishandled classified documents, the crime did not rise to a level that warranted prosecution in his opinion.

The Espionage Act of 1917 was written to protect the National Defense of the United States, not Israel. There’s not a word in the Espionage Act that can be applied to subverting the military plans of Israel against Iran. There is some language about aiding a foreign nation, but this language is clearly intended against providing information to an enemy of the United States in a time of War, or for providing information that could be used to initiate a War against the United States.

If the language of the Espionage Act about aiding a foreign nation is taken in the same context as the Department of Justices uses it against Rahman, similar charges could be made against countless government officials who have provided military intelligence to Israel.

Israel is an enemy of the United States, in fact. Israel attacked the NSA vessel USS Liberty in 1967 in a false-flag scheme to allow the United States to use nuclear weapons against Egypt, a scheme which failed because there were survivors left on the Liberty to identify the Israeli aircraft, and because the NSA published radio communications of Israeli pilots during the attack.

Israeli nationals and Mossad employees were arrested on September 11, 2001 with explosives residue in their van after positioning themselves to photograph the explosions of the World Trade Center, according to an FBI report. In response, the United States invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, and had plans to invade several more Nations surrounding Israel, according to General Wesley Clark.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the trial, if it goes to trial, is how the U.S. prosecutor will establish that Rahman’s leak of documents forced Israel to delay its attack of Iran? Will the prosecutor call members of the IDF to testify against the CIA employee?

It wouldn’t be the first time that the United States called an enemy to testify against one of their own. Japanese submarine commander Mochitsura Hashimoto was called to testify against Captain McVeigh of the USS Indianapolis in his court-martial. The Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, 34 days before the end of World War II. McVeigh was charged with hazarding his ship because he was not travelling in a random zig-zag pattern that would have made it more difficult for submarines to the Indianapolis. Hashimoto was called by the United States to testify that in fact the Indianapolis was not zigzagging. The decision to call Hashimoto to testify “caused an uproar among members of the press and politicians alike,” according to Stars and Stripes.

What the Hell, Mr. Garland, does subverting Israel’s plans against Iran have to do with the National Defense of the United States, anyway? The Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy, released a statement that specifically said the charges against Rahman were related to National Defense:

U.S. Government Employee Charged with Two Counts of Unlawfully Transmitting National Defense Information.

According to court documents, Asif William Rahman, 34, held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance as part of his role working for the U.S. government. According to an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Virginia on Nov. 7, Rahman, on or about Oct. 17, retained without authorization two documents classified at the Top Secret/SCI level, which contained information relating to national defense, and transmitted those documents to a person not entitled to receive them.

“Relating to national defense” of what Nation, Mr. Garland? Are you confused about what Nation you work for?

The Department of Justice under Attorney General Merrick Garland reeks of bias in favor of Israel. Zeteo published excerpts of a letter written by DOJ attorneys to Garland urging him to file charges against the IDF. Garland filed charges against senior members of Hamas alone, after the International Criminal Court filed charges against both Hamas and the IDF. Mr. Garland has yet to respond in any way to the request of DOJ attorneys to charge members of the IDF, despite the fact that the letter allegedly contained information about Americans in Palestine who were assassinated by the IDF.

The Times of Israel rejoiced when President Obama selected Merrick Garland as a Supreme Court nominee in 2016. They outlined his Jewish heritage: Inside the Jewish life of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.

I certainly hope that the defense of Rahman raises the argument that not only are the charges under the Espionage Act unwarranted, but that the Department of Justice is biased in favor of Israel and engages in selective prosecutions on their behalf.

That, along with how the DOJ intends to substantiate their claim that Israel delayed their attack against Iran due to the leaks of Rahman, and how that has anything to do with the National Defense of the United States if the claim is substantiated by the IDF in Court, should make for an entertaining trial indeed.

Charles Wright