Via WaPo:

A Defense Department analyst pleaded guilty yesterday to passing government secrets to two employees of a pro-Israel lobbying group and revealed for the first time that he also gave classified information directly to an Israeli government official in Washington.

Lawrence A. Franklin told a judge in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that he met at least eight times with Naor Gilon, who was the political officer at the Israeli Embassy before being recalled last summer.

The guilty plea and Franklin’s account appeared to cast doubt on long-standing denials by Israeli officials that they engage in any intelligence activities in the United States. The possibility of continued Israeli spying in Washington has been a sensitive subject between the two governments since Jonathan J. Pollard, a U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, admitted to spying for Israel in 1987 and was sentenced to life in prison.

David Siegel, a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy, said Israeli officials have been approached by U.S. investigators and are cooperating. “We have full confidence in our diplomats, who are dedicated professionals who conduct themselves in full accordance with established diplomatic practices,” Siegel said.

Court documents filed along with Franklin’s plea said he provided classified data — including information about a Middle Eastern country’s activities in Iraq and weapons tests conducted by a foreign country — to an unnamed “foreign official.”

The country was not named, but as Franklin entered his plea, he disclosed that some of the material he gave the lobbyists related to Iran. His attorneys stopped him from speaking further, and prosecutors immediately accused Franklin of revealing classified information in court.

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Previous coverage here.

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