No Clemency for Spy, Clinton Again Urged

Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, is again urging President Clinton not to commute the life sentence of Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former Navy analyst who pleaded guilty in 1986 to spying for Israel. Two years ago, Benjamin Netanyahu, then Israel’s prime minister, requested clemency for Pollard during U.S.-brokered Middle East peace talks. Clinton agreed to review the case but, after an outcry by Shelby and others in the U.S. intelligence community, decided not to take action. With Mideast peace talks underway in Washington, some U.S. officials say they expect Israel to again seek clemency for Pollard.