CNN, 11 Aug 2010: A scientist accused of trying to sell U.S. government secrets to Israel is scheduled to be in a federal courtroom in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. Stewart David Nozette, a former NASA scientist, has been charged with attempted espionage in connection with a scheme to allegedly peddle national security secrets to someone he thought was an Israeli agent, authorities have said.
Nozette was arrested in October 2009 after a meeting videotaped by undercover FBI agents. The footage, which has been played in open court during an earlier bond hearing, included segments in which Nozette allegedly offered government secrets in exchange for a false identity, a “kitty” of spending money, and departure from the United States, possibly to Israel. . . . .
McClatchy Newspapers, 12 March 2010: Stewart David Nozette is a very smart guy. Everyone says so. The astronomer holds a doctorate from MIT and a track record of scientific achievement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the like.
But now he’s in a world of hurt, accused of attempted espionage and facing a potential life sentence. This week, a federal judge tightened the screws by rejecting Nozette’s plea to suppress the fruits of an Oct. 19 FBI search.
In a five-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James Robertson said the FBI’s searches of Nozette’s home, car and person were all fully justified, not least because of a highly detailed affidavit supplied by FBI Special Agent Leslie Martell. The affidavit is, in fact, an intriguing window into the world of counterintelligence. . . .
Haaretz/Yossi Melman, 21 Jan 10: New documents presented in federal court in Washington, D.C. reveal deep ties (more than was known) between Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Dr. Stewart David Nozette, an American astronomer accused of spying for Israel. The media here covered his arrest on October 19, 2009 and then interest waned, though the American media are still monitoring the case.
Two attorneys in the counterespionage unit of the U.S. Department’s of Justice National Security division, Deborah Curtis and Heather Schmidt, presented documents found on the scientist’s computer. One document, titled “Proposed Operations for 2005-2006,” referred to the need to carry out “a penetration of NASA,” the U.S. space agency.
Another document, according to the prosecution, shows Nozette attempted to obtain highly confidential material by using his high-level security clearance and infiltrating other people’s computers.
Other documents mention the names of Yossi Weiss and Yossi Fishman. Weiss is a former project manager and today the deputy CEO of IAI and head of the company’s missile and space division. Fishman was the IAI’s representative in the U.S. and is today the CEO of ODF Optronics.
Fishman told Haaretz he knew Nozette the way he knew other Americans employed by the IAI at the time as consultants. “We did not engage in any kind of spying activity or information gathering, perish the thought. The relationship was business as usual.” . . . . .
Washington Examiner, 6 Jan 10: A Maryland scientist accused of giving classified defense information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer was under suspicion of breaching top-secret protocols as early as 2002, court documents said.
Despite the suspicion, Stewart Nozette was allowed to keep his clearance through 2007. It finally was stripped after federal authorities found classified information on his home computers while investigating him for fraud. He has since pleaded guilty to stealing almost $1 million in salary and benefits by lying on invoices for work he did for the Department of Defense and NASA through his nonprofit company, Alliance for Competitive Technology.
According to an affidavit made public this week in D.C.’s federal court, the FBI started its investigation into Nozette’s alleged espionage in 2008 after authorities discovered classified information on computers seized from his Chevy Chase home. Nozette was not allowed to bring the classified documents home. That investigation culminated this fall with Nozette’s arrest on attempted espionage charges after he allegedly gave the undercover FBI agent classified information regarding U.S. nuclear weapons programs and preparations for mass attacks, the affidavit said. . . . .
CNN, 5 Jan 10: A snag over security clearances Tuesday delayed the start of an espionage trial for Stewart David Nozette, a former NASA scientist accused of trying to peddle national security secrets to someone he thought was an Israeli agent.
Nozette was arrested in October after a meeting videotaped by FBI undercover agents. The footage, played in open court during a bond hearing, included segments in which Nozette allegedly offered government secrets in exchange for a false identity, a “kitty” of spending money, and departure from the United States, possibly to Israel.
After initially proposing jury selection for next month, U.S. District Judge James Robertson agreed Tuesday to postpone the trial until May or June, because Nozette’s defense team has not yet completed required security clearances to review the government’s evidence.
Nozette, who received a doctorate in planetary sciences from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, held sensitive positions involving U.S. aerospace research. He had a “top secret” clearance, and served at the White House on the National Space Council for President George H.W. Bush, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit filed with the Oct. 21 indictment says Nozette, for about six years until 2006, did research and development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Naval Research Laboratory, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
The document says Nozette also acted as a technical consultant from 1998 until early 2008 “for an aerospace company that was wholly owned by the government of the state of Israel.” Prosecutors, in setting up their case, have not directly linked Israel to the allegations against Nozette of attempted espionage.
