WASHINGTON

TOP OFFICIALS QUESTIONED IN ISRAEL PROBE

High-ranking officials at the Pentagon and State Department have been interviewed or briefed by FBI agents investigating a Defense Department analyst suspected of passing to Israel classified Bush administration materials on Iran.

Among those briefed by the FBI was Douglas Feith, the Pentagon undersecretary for policy who is a superior of the analyst under investigation, said government officials familiar with the sessions. The officials spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing.

The FBI agents briefed Mr. Feith on Sunday in his office at the Pentagon and also asked questions, the officials said. Also recently briefed by the FBI was Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, they said.

Others at State and Defense have been interviewed or briefed over the course of the probe, but the officials declined to provide any other names.

There was no immediate indication that the criminal investigation has widened beyond the single analyst, identified previously by senior law enforcement officials as Larry Franklin. Franklin, who has not responded to telephone messages seeking comment, works in an office dealing the Middle East affairs and has access to classified government information.

The investigation focuses on whether Franklin passed classified U.S. material on Iran to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the influential Israeli lobbying organization in Washington, and whether anyone in that group forwarded the information to Israeli officials. – Associated Press

NORTHEAST

MCGREEVEY’S ACCUSER SAYS HE WILL NOT SUE

A former aide who claims Governor McGreevey sexually harassed him said yesterday he will not sue the New Jersey governor. The governor’s resignation announcement was sufficient admission of his wrongdoing, Golan Cipel said in a statement written in Hebrew and released yesterday by an Israeli public relations agency. Mr. Cipel is in seclusion with his family in Israel. Mr. McGreevey announced August 12 that he is gay and would resign from office because he had an extramarital affair with a man. Administration sources identified the other man in the relationship as Mr. Cipel.

Mr. McGreevey has said the relationship was consensual.

But Mr. Cipel, Mr. McGreevey’s former homeland security adviser, denied he is gay and insisted he had been sexually harassed and pressured by the governor from the time he first went to work for him.

“Despite my strong desire to prove my case in a court of law, I have decided not to proceed with my suit,” Mr. Cipel said in the statement. “The main reason is the governor’s resignation and his admission of his acts. It’s clear to all that McGreevey resigned because he sexually harassed me and that a man of his standing would not have resigned because of sexual orientation or having had an extramarital affair.” – Associated Press

WEST

BRYANT JURY SELECTION BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

EAGLE, Colo. – Attorneys in Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case began questioning jury candidates behind closed doors yesterday after the judge rejected a request to let the media listen in. The NBA star’s right to a fair trial and the jury candidates’ right to privacy outweigh “qualified” First Amendment rights of access, District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said after hearing from press attorneys.

The private questioning would be “very limited,” the judge said. Areas to be covered in private include the potential jurors’ personal experience with sexual assault, any potential racial prejudice they harbor, whether pretrial publicity has prompted them to form an opinion on Bryant’s guilt or innocence, and on their familiarity with the accuser, Judge Ruckriegle said.

Jury selection will be private until at least tomorrow, when reporters will be allowed to either listen to an audio feed or watch via closed-circuit TV. By then, the jury pool most likely will have been cut considerably from the original 300 to 400 participants.

Mr. Bryant, 26, has pleaded not guilty to felony sexual assault, saying he had consensual sex with a then-19-year-old employee at a Vailarea resort where he stayed last summer.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

FORMER MAYOR INDICTED ON RACKETEERING, WIRE FRAUD

ATLANTA – A former Atlanta mayor, Bill Campbell, was indicted on racketeering, bribery, and wire fraud charges following a five-year federal investigation into corruption during his years at City Hall, officials said yesterday. Mr. Campbell, who was mayor from 1994 to 2002, is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions, cash, travel, and home improvements in exchange for city contracts. The indictment, unsealed yesterday, accuses Mr. Campbell of “a pattern and practice of misconduct and illegal acts” that included seeking money from people doing business with the city to line his own pockets, in part to support his gambling habit, including repeated trips to casinos. Mr. Campbell, who has called the federal probe a witch hunt, stood with his hands clasped in front of him as authorities listed the charges against him at a news conference. “They’re lies from beginning to end,” he told reporters afterward, visibly angry. “The only thing that’s correct in this indictment is the spelling of my name.” Ten people who worked for Mr. Campbell have been convicted of corruption. Some were members of Mr. Campbell’s staff, including top aides; others had business contracts with the city during his tenure. – Associated Press

MID-ATLANTIC

ALLEGED HAMAS OPERATIVE FREED ON BAIL

BALTIMORE – A man described as a high-ranking Hamas operative was freed yesterday on a $1 million bond, but must appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago probing the Palestinian militant group’s financing. Ismael Selim Elbarasse was released during a closed-door detention hearing in federal court in Baltimore, said Vickie LeDuc, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office. His attorney said he was traveling to his home in Annandale, Va. Mr. Elbarasse had been arrested after officers pulled him over August 20 just west of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge after spotting his wife filming the structure with a video camera.

Neither Mr. Elbarasse nor his wife was charged with any wrongdoing. However, Maryland authorities held him after discovering a material witness warrant had been issued for him in Illinois the same day.

Federal officials in Chicago want Elbarasse to appear before a grand jury probing the financing of Hamas, which the government has designated a terrorist organization.

“He’s going home, and I suspect what he and his family will do is stop keeping photo albums of their vacations,” said Mr. Elbarasse’s attorney, Stanley Cohen. – Associated Press

U.S. REP. ED SCHROCK ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

RICHMOND, Va. – Republican U.S. Rep. Edward Schrock abruptly announced yesterday that he will not seek a third term, citing unspecified allegations that have “called into question” his ability to serve.

Mr. Schrock said in a five-paragraph statement that he has “come to the realization that these allegations will not allow my campaign to focus on the real issues facing our nation.” The release said he would not comment further on his decision, nor did he comment specifically on the allegations.

Mr. Schrock’s decision leaves the Republicans scrambling to field another candidate to oppose Democrat David Ashe in the conservative district, which includes Norfolk and the resort city of Virginia Beach. “Wow. I had not heard that. That’s really something,” said Mr. Ashe, a lawyer, in a telephone interview.

Mr. Schrock, 63, a retired Navy officer and Vietnam veteran, was elected to the seat in a 2000 Republican sweep of Virginia in an area that is home to the world’s largest U.S. naval base.

– Associated Press