Feds to appeal ruling in AIPAC case

By MATTHEW BARAKAT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Yet another delay is expected in the trial of two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing U.S. secrets after prosecutors told a judge Friday they plan to appeal a critical ruling on how classified information will be introduced at trial.

The ruling issued this week by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III is sealed, but a lawyer for one defendant portrayed prosecutors’ decision to appeal as the latest in a series of setbacks to the government’s case.

Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, former lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, were accused in 2005 of illegally disclosing sensitive national defense information. Their trial originally was set for 2006 but will now have to be rescheduled an eighth time — the latest date had been set for next month.

“It’s now pretty clear that the government does not want to try this case,” said Rosen’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell. “They filed these charges without thinking them through, and there appears to be no one in government with enough authority or courage to admit they made a mistake.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Alexandria declined to comment. (more…)