Leonard Garment was a prominent Washington attorney and former aide to [[Richard M. Nixon]]. He was hired by [[Israel]] in June 1986 to represent Colonel [[Aviem Sella]], the Israeli handler of [[Jonathan Pollard]], after Pollard gave up Sella's name. Garment's goal was to find common ground between [[Washington D.C.]] and the government of [[Israel]] and settle the matter before it led to more damaging press.[^1] Garment flew to [[Tel Aviv]] to interview Sella and speak with Israeli officials. The Israeli position, as outlined to Garment, was that Sella had done nothing more than meet socially with Pollard and that there wasn't the slightest indication of spying on his part. Garment, however, began stalling for time and refused to file the proffer as initially written, saying it needed more work. He returned to [[Washington D.C.]] to try to negotiate a diplomatic solution.[^1] During a meeting with a six-man Israeli delegation in August 1986, Garment was pressured to file the proffer. He eventually lost his temper and warned the Israelis that if they made a move in his direction, he would throw them in the pool. It was later agreed that Garment would withdraw from the case quietly. Garment informed U.S. Attorney [[Joseph E. diGenova]] and Deputy Assistant Attorney General [[Mark M. Richard]] that he was leaving the case because he was not sure whether his client was Aviem Sella or the Israeli government.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 21.