--- title: "The most damaging spy in US history just walked free" date: "2018-04-02" modified: "2020-10-21" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/damaging-spy-u-s-history-just-released-prison/" categories: - "Military News" --- # The most damaging spy in US history just walked free ![]() Jonathan Pollard, [the most damaging spy in U.S. history](), was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for passing documents to Israel. After thirty years in jail, he was [released on parole]() to great fanfare from his wife, the government in Israel, and the American pro-Israel lobby. According to Pollard's lawyers, he will be required to wear an electronic bracelet so his movements can be monitored at all times and his computers and those of any employer who hires him will be subjected to "unfettered monitoring and inspection." --- Israeli [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu]() called the release "a dream come true" and that "the people of Israel welcome his release." The PM's office restricted celebrations of his release in hopes the American government will allow him to travel to Israel sooner. ![]() *Pollard released this photo with his wife, Esther.* While Israel is an American ally and has access to a lot of American intelligence, the information provided by Pollard to Israel is said to have caused grave damage to the national security of the United States. The information was so damaging, when President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, presented an assessment of Pollard's spying to the presiding judge in his trial, the judge threw out Pollard's plea deal and threw the book at him and his wife. ![]() Weinberger said he sought to "dispel any presumption that disclosures to an ally are insignificant; to the contrary, substantial and irrevocable damage has been done to this nation." The most damaging release included the 10-volume Radio and Signal Intelligence \[RASIN\] manual, aka "the Bible," detailing the entire U.S. global listening profile, "frequency by frequency, source by source, geographic slice by geographic slice. RASIN was in effect, a complete roadmap to American signal intelligence." The manual revealed which communications channels of which powers, in which regions, the NSA was intercepting and in what order of priority, providing insight on where and what actions the U.S. military might take next. ![]() *Pollard caught stealing documents on camera.* The memo said many documents the spy gave the Israelis included details on sourcing and the identifications of U.S. agents abroad. Among other information Pollard admits giving to Israel: - Detailed information about a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) HQ in Tunisia - Iraqi and Syrian chemical warfare factory locations and production capabilities - Regular PLO operations plans - Soviet arms shipments to Arab states unfriendly to Israel - Soviet fighter jet information - Information about Pakistani nuclear weapons programs "Unauthorized disclosures to friendly powers may cause as great a harm to the national security as to hostile powers because, once the information is removed from secure control systems, there is no enforceable requirement nor any incentive to provide effective controls for its safekeeping," [the memo read](). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itIwrWPQ00E The CIA [believes]() the information Pollard gave them might have been traded to the Soviet Union in exchange for looser travel restrictions of Russian Jews trying to emigrate to Israel. Pollard claimed he was acting in a sense of altruism and loyalty toward Israel. Yet, In an exhaustive 1987 report, NCIS investigator Ron Olive alleged Pollard passed material on to South Africa and tried to pass it on to Pakistan as well. He took intelligence documents about China which his wife used to advance her business interests. He passed No Foreign Access (NOFORN) information on to an Australian Navy officer.The government's case against Pollard included unsuccessful attempts to broker arms deals with South Africa, Argentina, Taiwan, Pakistan, and Iran. And for all of Pollard's altruism, he accepted more than $30,000 in cash and luxury items from Israel in exchange for information. [Many]() former Department of Defense officials are against his release. Some prominent Jewish-American figures are against it. Even once-ardent supporters of Pollard [disagree]() with the timing. Ron Olive, the NCIS investigator who caught Pollard after he handed more than a million documents to Israeli agents over 18 months, believes the spy should stay in jail. So does Vice-President [Joe Biden](). Then-CIA director George Tenet threatened his [resignation]() if President Clinton released Pollard in the late 1990s. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()