"Wood announced his resignation a day after World Food Program (WFP) executive director Cindy McCain rejected Israel’s persistent claims that food aid is not reaching Palestinians in Gaza because Hamas is diverting and stealing deliveries."
Even now Israel peddles the lie that Hamas are 'stealing' the food aid to justify their mass starvation of the Palestinians. What, Israel terrorises children with bombs and famine and then expects Palestinians to be herded like cattle and form orderly queues for their mercenary proxy operations to dole out pitiful amounts of food? Utterly disgusting.
Thanks for writing this article. I had forgotten about the Jonathan Pollard story and hadn’t heard of Trump pardoning him, so I asked Grok about it, as well as checked out the relevant links in your article. Here was my question for Grok: What did Trump pardon Jonathan Pollard for?
Here is Grok’s response: “Former President Donald Trump did not pardon Jonathan Pollard. Instead, Pollard served a 30-year prison sentence for espionage, having pleaded guilty in 1987 to selling classified U.S. military secrets to Israel while working as a Navy intelligence analyst in the 1980s. He was released on parole in 2015, and his parole restrictions were lifted in November 2020, allowing him to move to Israel in December 2020. However, Trump did grant a full pardon to Aviem Sella, an Israeli Air Force colonel who recruited Pollard, on January 20, 2021, during his final hours in office. The White House stated that Sella’s pardon was supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Miriam Adelson, with Israel issuing an apology to close this chapter in U.S.-Israel relations.”
Grok isn’t 100% accurate all the time, but the articles you linked to don’t appear to say that Trump pardoned Pollard.
Upvote for the valid questioning and request for additional explanation.
AI isn't accurate which is why I endeavour not to directly quote any AI sources. Especially if it has a bias dataset or restrictions (both Elon Musk, owner of Grok, and and Sam Altman, owner of ChatGPT, have pro-Israel bias). It also can only do superficial searches.
"but the articles you linked to don’t appear to say that Trump pardoned Pollard."
The article's wording beats around the bush, but it basically paints the parole is a gift from the Trump administration, quoting the relevant section:
"Pollard’s release from parole last month was the latest in a series of gifts from the outgoing Trump administration to Netanyahu’s government."
"Pollard is required by his parole conditions to give three days advance notice and submit a formal written request to leave Manhattan"
That is to say, he wasn't allowed to leave the US (or Manhattan specifically) with the parole in effect. The fact he was able to travel to Israel means Trump commuted the parole.
Commutation is another way of saying 'pardon'. A President does not have to hand out a complete pardon either (in the sense of an expunged record), but can also give out what you might call 'conditional' or 'partial' pardons.
So I dug a little further just to clarify any confusion. So the commutation was not done via a conventional route. Instead, it appears Trump had effectively directed the Department of Justice - who control the US Parole Commission - to drop the parole requirements, after facing pressure from Netanyahu:
"[Pollard's attorneys] communicated with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Parole Commission, emphasizing that Mr. Pollard has had an exemplary record, both as a prisoner and as a parolee, and that there is every reason for confidence that he will be a model citizen after his parole restrictions are lifted"
"The U.S. Parole Commission notified him today that it had terminated his parole and lifted the restrictions that were keeping him to within certain sections of Manhattan"
"In the statement, Pollard thanked Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, acting in behalf of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their efforts in his behalf."
Given this occurred during 2020 and the DoJ would have been spearheaded by a Trump appointee, this is de facto a Trump pardon. I fully understand if you disagree with me on this, however I point to the fact Trump explicitly pardoned Pollard's handler Aviem Sella, which was also at Netanyahu's request, as proof had Pollard had been still in jail, he would have received a direct pardon rather than a backdoor one:
Note that Pollard would have received his parole during a Trump presidency, one that "should not have happened" given he was originally given a life sentence:
Maybe it does not meet your threshold, but in my opinion I'm convinced he was de facto pardoned by some clever behind-the-scenes footwork. I imagine an explicit direct pardon would have drawn significantly more ire.
The Underdog, I very much appreciate your thoughtful replies to my query. I've only had the opportunity to skim the articles you've presented (I'm helping a loved one with cancer deal with a slew of issues today). I wish I had the time to go deeper than that, but my sense right now is that the idea of a "de facto pardon" by Trump seems speculative. I'm absolutely fine with agreeing to disagree on this matter. I continue to respect you and your work.
Prioritise your loved one, the articles can wait. I'm perfectly fine if you disagree with my interpretation. I wish they get better for you and I hope you find more free time soon with some time to relax for yourself.
The elohim worship cult is only interested in one thing, bloodshed to their elohim gods and anyone in the way is either bought off or eliminated. The DC matter was a false flag event, no doubt at all now.
‘They cry in pain as they attack you’
the criminal plans for the latest US-Israeli so-called aid relief.... - https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/21/the-hostile-takeover-of-gaza-relief/
....already seem to be imploding - https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/26/head-of-condemned-us-israel-aid-plan-for-gaza-quits/
"Wood announced his resignation a day after World Food Program (WFP) executive director Cindy McCain rejected Israel’s persistent claims that food aid is not reaching Palestinians in Gaza because Hamas is diverting and stealing deliveries."
Even now Israel peddles the lie that Hamas are 'stealing' the food aid to justify their mass starvation of the Palestinians. What, Israel terrorises children with bombs and famine and then expects Palestinians to be herded like cattle and form orderly queues for their mercenary proxy operations to dole out pitiful amounts of food? Utterly disgusting.
absolutely! thanks for all the work you do, much appreciated.
Thanks for writing this article. I had forgotten about the Jonathan Pollard story and hadn’t heard of Trump pardoning him, so I asked Grok about it, as well as checked out the relevant links in your article. Here was my question for Grok: What did Trump pardon Jonathan Pollard for?
Here is Grok’s response: “Former President Donald Trump did not pardon Jonathan Pollard. Instead, Pollard served a 30-year prison sentence for espionage, having pleaded guilty in 1987 to selling classified U.S. military secrets to Israel while working as a Navy intelligence analyst in the 1980s. He was released on parole in 2015, and his parole restrictions were lifted in November 2020, allowing him to move to Israel in December 2020. However, Trump did grant a full pardon to Aviem Sella, an Israeli Air Force colonel who recruited Pollard, on January 20, 2021, during his final hours in office. The White House stated that Sella’s pardon was supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and Miriam Adelson, with Israel issuing an apology to close this chapter in U.S.-Israel relations.”
Grok isn’t 100% accurate all the time, but the articles you linked to don’t appear to say that Trump pardoned Pollard.
Upvote for the valid questioning and request for additional explanation.
AI isn't accurate which is why I endeavour not to directly quote any AI sources. Especially if it has a bias dataset or restrictions (both Elon Musk, owner of Grok, and and Sam Altman, owner of ChatGPT, have pro-Israel bias). It also can only do superficial searches.
"but the articles you linked to don’t appear to say that Trump pardoned Pollard."
The article's wording beats around the bush, but it basically paints the parole is a gift from the Trump administration, quoting the relevant section:
"Pollard’s release from parole last month was the latest in a series of gifts from the outgoing Trump administration to Netanyahu’s government."
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jonathan-pollard-convicted-spy-paroled-by-trump-kisses-ground-as-he-lands-in-israel/
For more context, Trump was explicitly asked to terminate Pollard's parole conditions:
"major American Jewish organizations sent US President Donald Trump a plea to commute the parole of former spy Jonathan Pollard"
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/americas/1572970614-jewish-american-groups-ask-trump-to-terminate-jonathan-pollard-s-parole
The parole conditions were:
"Pollard is required by his parole conditions to give three days advance notice and submit a formal written request to leave Manhattan"
That is to say, he wasn't allowed to leave the US (or Manhattan specifically) with the parole in effect. The fact he was able to travel to Israel means Trump commuted the parole.
Commutation is another way of saying 'pardon'. A President does not have to hand out a complete pardon either (in the sense of an expunged record), but can also give out what you might call 'conditional' or 'partial' pardons.
So I dug a little further just to clarify any confusion. So the commutation was not done via a conventional route. Instead, it appears Trump had effectively directed the Department of Justice - who control the US Parole Commission - to drop the parole requirements, after facing pressure from Netanyahu:
"[Pollard's attorneys] communicated with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Parole Commission, emphasizing that Mr. Pollard has had an exemplary record, both as a prisoner and as a parolee, and that there is every reason for confidence that he will be a model citizen after his parole restrictions are lifted"
"The U.S. Parole Commission notified him today that it had terminated his parole and lifted the restrictions that were keeping him to within certain sections of Manhattan"
"In the statement, Pollard thanked Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, acting in behalf of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for their efforts in his behalf."
https://forward.com/news/458957/jonathan-pollard-spy-israel/
Given this occurred during 2020 and the DoJ would have been spearheaded by a Trump appointee, this is de facto a Trump pardon. I fully understand if you disagree with me on this, however I point to the fact Trump explicitly pardoned Pollard's handler Aviem Sella, which was also at Netanyahu's request, as proof had Pollard had been still in jail, he would have received a direct pardon rather than a backdoor one:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/at-israels-request-trump-pardons-israeli-handler-of-spy-jonathan-pollard/
Note that Pollard would have received his parole during a Trump presidency, one that "should not have happened" given he was originally given a life sentence:
https://israeled.org/jonathan-pollard-sentenced-life-prison/
Maybe it does not meet your threshold, but in my opinion I'm convinced he was de facto pardoned by some clever behind-the-scenes footwork. I imagine an explicit direct pardon would have drawn significantly more ire.
The Underdog, I very much appreciate your thoughtful replies to my query. I've only had the opportunity to skim the articles you've presented (I'm helping a loved one with cancer deal with a slew of issues today). I wish I had the time to go deeper than that, but my sense right now is that the idea of a "de facto pardon" by Trump seems speculative. I'm absolutely fine with agreeing to disagree on this matter. I continue to respect you and your work.
Prioritise your loved one, the articles can wait. I'm perfectly fine if you disagree with my interpretation. I wish they get better for you and I hope you find more free time soon with some time to relax for yourself.
The elohim worship cult is only interested in one thing, bloodshed to their elohim gods and anyone in the way is either bought off or eliminated. The DC matter was a false flag event, no doubt at all now.
They beg for weapons while they bomb children.