By Jake Tapper and Sherisse Pham

The Lead with Jake Tapper starts Monday, March 18th.

Unshackled from the White House, former spokesman for the National Security Council Tommy Vietor is being very candid about the Israeli cause to free Jonathan Pollard - an American who spied for Israel. Pollard was convicted in 1987 and is currently serving out a life sentence in the United States. Many Israelis are waging a public effort to free Pollard in advance of President Obama's scheduled visit to Israel later this month. The effort for a pardon has been going on for decades, and has been rejected by presidents Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

Vietor weighed in on the sensitive issue after The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted, "The new Ethiopian-born Miss Israel will ask Obama to free Jonathan Pollard when they dine together at Shimon Peres's house."

Vietor responded, "Can't understand why Israelis make this their cause. Pollard was a spy. Period." Vietor's tweet was a very blunt, very public response he never could have made as a spokesman for the White House.

[tweet https://twitter.com/TVietor08/status/312570043378593794%5D
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