The CIA was reportedly “alarmed” by the meeting, which broke its long-standing policy of not speaking to convicted spies.
Published November 21, 2025
The White House said it was unaware of a meeting earlier this year between U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. naval officer convicted of spying for Israel and imprisoned for decades.
White House press secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters Thursday that the Trump administration had no prior knowledge of the meeting, but that “the president supports Ambassador Mike Huckabee and everything he is doing for the United States and Israel.”
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The New York Times revealed Thursday that Huckabee met with Pollard at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in July.
The Times, citing two unnamed U.S. officials, said the meeting was not on Huckabee’s official schedule and took place without the knowledge of U.S. intelligence agencies.
Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, was tried and convicted in 1987 of passing thousands of classified U.S. documents to Israel in exchange for cash and gifts. He was sentenced to life in prison, the harshest sentence ever handed out for a spy for the Allies.
Pollard was released on parole in 2015 and served 30 years in prison before immigrating to Israel in 2020. He is considered a hero by some in Israel.
The incident seriously strained U.S.-Israel relations at the time and is still considered one of the most damaging intelligence breaches in U.S. history.
Mr. Pollard said in a television interview with Israel’s i24 news on Thursday that the meeting with Mr. Huckabee took place at his request.
“I originally requested the interview for very personal reasons,” he said.
“I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude for all the effort he (Huckabee) put in for me when I was in prison,” he added.
Pollard said he believed someone within the CIA based at the U.S. Embassy in Israel leaked information about the meeting to the media in an effort to “discredit” the ambassador and “remove” him from his position.
“I believe that the people behind this are anti-Israel elements within the Trump administration,” he said.
It remains unclear whether Mr. Huckabee sought approval from the Trump administration before meeting with Mr. Pollard. But sources who spoke to the Times said the CIA was “alarmed” by news of the meeting because it violates long-standing practice among U.S. officials not to talk to convicted spies.
Mr. Huckabee, an ardent supporter of Israel and political ally of President Donald Trump, advocated for Mr. Pollard’s release when he was running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2011.
In an interview with i24 News, Pollard criticized members of the Trump administration and Special Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who have played a leading role in peace negotiations to end Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I despise Witkoff and Kushner. They were happy to meet with the terrorists who massacred us on October 7, 2023,” he said.
