Report: Lieberman denied access to intelligence
Lieberman not given full access to secret information while serving as minister of strategic affairs, senior official says
The official did not give the reason for the measure against Lieberman, which would be rare for a top official and doubly extraordinary for a minister whose portfolio specifically deals with coordinating security initiatives. The most important work of the ministry in recent years has involved the threat from Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.
The official said Lieberman had not been given full access to secret information while he was minister of strategic affairs from October 2006 to January 2008. The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that did not mean Lieberman was under any particular suspicion.
The official did not know whether Lieberman's security clearance was upgraded in 2009, when he became foreign minister in the current government.
'Allegations absolutely false'
The AP reported noted that Lieberman hails from the former Soviet Union and is considered close to some top officials in his homeland. Furthermore, Lieberman's situation has been complicated by years of corruption probes.
Lieberman's spokesman Tzachi Moshe said the allegations were "absolutely and unequivocally false," adding that Lieberman passed a comprehensive security inspection and as strategic affairs minister held dozens of meetings with the heads of the Mossad intelligence agency.
A spokesman for Ehud Olmert, prime minister at the time, denied any knowledge of Lieberman's supposed marginalization. He, too, spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity.
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