Huckabee met at US embassy with American who spied against US for Israel

Trump's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, hosted Jonathan Pollard at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in July, marking the first time a U.S. official met the convicted spy at a government office since his 2015 release. Pollard, a former naval intelligence analyst, served 30 years of a life sentence for passing classified documents to Israel between 1984 and 1985.

Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger stated Pollard's actions compromised U.S. intelligence sources and endangered American forces worldwide, filling a 6-foot by 6-foot by 10-foot space with documents. The meeting, absent from Huckabee's schedule, surprised U.S. officials and broke decades of precedent for diplomats avoiding Pollard. Three anonymous U.S. officials told The New York Times the encounter alarmed the CIA station chief in Israel.

The White House learned post-facto and expressed alarm, per a White House official and two briefed sources. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was unaware but affirmed Trump stands by Huckabee. The State Department did not confirm prior approval and declined comment. The U.S. Embassy claimed the reporting contained "inaccuracies" but offered no specifics, stating Huckabee meets numerous people without disclosing conversation details.

Pollard confirmed the "friendly meeting" in a Wednesday phone interview, thanking Huckabee for his past support and advocacy.

Huckabee, a former Republican presidential candidate, had called for Pollard's freedom over a decade ago.

Pollard declined to detail discussion topics but reiterated no regrets, claiming U.S. intelligence sharing cuts justified his actions. He criticized Trump as a “madman who has literally sold us down the drain, for Saudi gold,” referencing Trump's Tuesday F-35 jet sales to Saudi Arabia despite Israeli objections.

Pollard, 71, plans a Knesset run; in an August Jerusalem Post interview, he advocated annexing Gaza and repopulating it with Israeli settlers. In 2020, at Trump's term end, the Justice Department lifted Pollard's parole, allowing his move to Israel, where Netanyahu welcomed him as a hero.

Trump also pardoned Aviem Sella, Pollard's Israeli handler, though Sella faced no extradition. Former U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer questioned the logic: “Why would the American representative in the State of Israel want to meet with Jonathan Pollard? It just defies any kind of logic.”

Kurtzer added Pollard paid heavily but saw no need to rehabilitate him.

Huckabee's Pollard meeting echoes his June hosting of sanctioned far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, denouncing Western penalties for inciting Palestinian violence. Pollard remains the only American sentenced to life for spying on an ally; supporters deem the punishment excessive, while backers of the sentence cite severe U.S. damage.

Pollard told Jerusalem Post his loyalty follows an “Israel first” doctrine, mirroring Trump's “America first,” for which he served 30 years.