Pollard not the 'very important person' Trump will pardon on Tuesday
Trump has mulled pardons for both Snowden and Flynn but he said it won't be them.
By GIL HOFFMAN, REUTERSUS President Donald Trump arrives to address a briefing at the White House, August 13, 2020.(photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will pardon a "very, very important" person on Tuesday, but it will not be leaker Edward Snowden or his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn."Doing a pardon tomorrow on someone who is very, very important," Trump told reporters on Air Force One. He declined to offer further details except to say it was not Flynn or Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor now living in Russia who has been charged with leaking secret information.Trump's statement raised speculation in Israel that he could be referring to Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard.Pollard was released from prison in November 2015, after serving 30 years of a life sentence for spying for Israel. But he was not permitted to move to Israel for five years, as part of his parole conditions.The conditions prevent Pollard from leaving his New York home after 7 p.m. and before 7 a.m., compel him to submit any computer he uses for inspection and require him to wear a GPS monitoring device that forces him to violate the Sabbath.When asked if Trump may be referring to Pollard, Settlements Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, who was active in past efforts to bring about Pollard's release, said "I wish. I have no idea."Former minister Uri Ariel, who is a former head of the Knesset Pollard lobby, said he was both praying and working on Pollard's behalfA source knowledgeable of current efforts to enable Pollard to come to Israel said Trump was not referring to Pollard but there was reason for hope when the five years of his parole conditions are over in three months."Jonathan's story will end in the near future," the source said. "It will happen because there is no reason for parole conditions anymore and his behavior has been good. He and his wife want to come here, and we hope they can."
