ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Pentagon policy analyst was arrested Wednesday and charged with disclosing classified information about U.S. troops in Iraq to two members of an influential pro-Israel lobbying group.
A criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday against Lawrence A. Franklin, 58, an Iran specialist and Defense Department employee since 1979, also alleges that he made unauthorized disclosures to a "foreign official" and to unidentified members of the news media.
Franklin also was charged with illegally storing dozens of classified documents -- with dates spanning his government service -- at his home in West Virginia.
Franklin denies any wrongdoing. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The charges are the first stemming from a more than two-year FBI investigation that has raised questions about U.S. relations with a long-standing ally and the activities of one of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Investigators have focused on whether pro-Israel Pentagon officials crossed a line in sharing U.S. secrets and whether Israel may have broken the rules about access to government data in an attempt to gain sensitive intelligence about such foes as Iran and Iraq.
The complaint against Franklin does not allege that he engaged in espionage or that he directly shared secrets with Israel. Lawyers for Franklin and for the two lobbyists that allegedly received the classified information issued vigorous denials.
And the complaint does not ascribe a motive to Franklin's disclosures, or identify Israel as an ultimate beneficiary.
"He intends to plead not guilty and vigorously defend himself," said John Richards, a Washington lawyer representing Franklin. "We expect the judicial process to exonerate him."
Franklin was released after posting a $100,000 bond, agreeing to surrender his passport and firearms and accepting other restrictions. Federal prosecutors did not object to his release. A preliminary hearing was set for May 27.
Franklin had been previously identified as a pivotal figure in the investigation, and until last fall he had been cooperating with federal agents. Earlier, he rejected a plea bargain agreement proposed by the government that he and his lawyers considered overly punitive.
The federal complaint offered few new details about the investigation, and raised questions about the information that he was handling and its value to foreign governments.
