A spokesperson for the White House confirmed on Tuesday night that President Barack H. Obama had received the letter Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sent requesting freedom for Jonathan Pollard. In a statement, the officials said that “We have received the letter and will review it.” Speaking several weeks ago, State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley said that if Netanyahu did send the letter, “there's obviously a legal process that would be undertaken to evaluate it. If the Israeli government makes a formal request, there is a legal process overseen by the Department of Justice to evaluate such requests.”

Netanyahu was to release the contents of the letter to Mks on Tuesday night. In the letter, Netanyahu asks Obama to pardon Pollard, saying that “long time has passed since the act was carried out. Pollard has served his punishment.”