Clinton was willing to let him go initially, but others pressured him to keep in prison. Netanyahu was trying to make a deal during the Wye River accords. Israel has never tried since.
This was the rumor. It’s not clear to me that either Clinton wanted this or Bibi for that matter. I’d certainly think that if pro-Pollard forces had decided to “leak” this information, Bibi wouldn’t have wanted to deal with a political backlash if he downplayed how important it was to him.