Posted on 04/20/2009 6:57:25 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Report: Jane Harman recorded vowing take action for AIPAC on wiretap @ 9:33 am by Jeremy P. Jacobs
Congresswoman Jane Harman was recorded on a NSA wiretapped conversation agreeing to work to downgrade espionage charges against two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in return for help securing the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, according to Jeff Stein's anonymously sourced column in Congressional Quarterly.
Harman, a California Democrat, was allegedly recorded in a conversation with a suspected Israeli agent. The conversation reportedly took place before the 2006 election, when Democrats seized control of the chamber and, therefore, the committee chairmanships.
It was widely reported at the time that Harman wanted to chair the Intelligence Committee but was passed over by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat. An FBI investigation was launched at the time into pro-Israel lobbyists seeking to influence Pelosi to give Harman the chairmanship.
The story alleges that then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales compelled the FBI to end the investigation in return for Harman defending the administration's wiretapping program.
Harman wholeheartedly denied wrong doing in a statement to the publication. "These claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact," she said. "I never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves."
It is unclear from the story whether Harman knew she was talking to a "suspected Israeli agent."
In addition to these developments, the story touches upon the implied power of the Israel lobby, which, if this is all true, Harman believed could effectively lobby Pelosi for the chairmanship.
It does not appear that Harman was the member of Congress that the New York Times reported last week that the NSA attempted to wiretap.
Two more points of interest: That the NSA was listening to a member of Congress on its wiretaps is, by itself, newsworthy enough. But now, the fact that they are leaking the transcripts is mind boggling.
Congresswoman Jane Harman was recorded on a NSA wiretapped conversation agreeing to work to downgrade espionage charges against two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in return for help securing the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, according to Jeff Stein's anonymously sourced column in Congressional Quarterly... allegedly recorded in a conversation with a suspected Israeli agent. The conversation reportedly took place before the 2006 election, when Democrats seized control of the chamber and, therefore, the committee chairmanships.This took place before the 2006 election and is only being made public now, by the Obama administration. What a huge surprise.
It was widely reported at the time that Harman wanted to chair the Intelligence Committee but was passed over by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Rep. Silvestre Reyes, a Texas Democrat. An FBI investigation was launched at the time into pro-Israel lobbyists seeking to influence Pelosi to give Harman the chairmanship.Funny, I don't remember reading anything about this supposed investigation in news stories during the runup to the 2008 campaign, or during the campaign itself.
The story alleges that then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales compelled the FBI to end the investigation in return for Harman defending the administration's wiretapping program.Oh, see -- it's all Bush's fault.
Harman wholeheartedly denied wrong doing in a statement to the publication. "These claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact," she said. "I never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves." It is unclear from the story whether Harman knew she was talking to a "suspected Israeli agent." In addition to these developments, the story touches upon the implied power of the Israel lobby, which, if this is all true, Harman believed could effectively lobby Pelosi for the chairmanship.Since this story reeks of the paranoid conspiracy mania that has gripped Moslems time out of mind, I wonder where this story was concocted?
Two more points of interest: That the NSA was listening to a member of Congress on its wiretaps is, by itself, newsworthy enough. But now, the fact that they are leaking the transcripts is mind boggling.
Neither is true. The NSA and FBI have cooperating roles, not mutually exclusive roles. See the Jabarra set of cases. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1550960/posts?page=221#221 (scroll up and down in that thread)
But she's not the Chair. That is Sylvestre Reyes. Pelosi saw to it that Harman didn't get it, even though she was the likely choice.
Count on it, if the lobbyist is a foreign diplomat. That conversation is categorically of interest as possibly containing "foreign intelligence information," and is thereby subject to being obtained without reference to a court approval.
Argh... you're right. Just goes to show how much attention I've been paying over the past couple of years. Mea culpa.
Still, I think the idea of replacing Harman with an 0bamanite is probably the driving factor here.
Yup, it's pretty clear that there is an attempt to do her damage.
There was a legal fuss in the UK, heard in some EU "Court of Human Rights." Ahh, found it. See http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098347/posts?page=17#17
I wondered for a minute why the Obama administration was leaking bad information about a Democrat. But then I realised -- it's not surprising at all. Harmon was a fairly decent democrat when it came to national security. Obama is helping out Pelosi, while at the same time smearing the Bush administration some more by suggesting the administration illegally tapped a congresswoman and then used the tapes to blackmail her into supporing the administration program.
If that story were true, it would be a big deal -- I assume it is not the truth. Maybe Obama is sending the message that, under his NSA, democratic congresspeople better toe the line or he'll leak damaging information about them. In other words, it's the classic "blame others for what you intend to do".
Thanks for this and the previous post.
Sources: Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Promising to Intervene for AIPAC
It contains enough detail of the conversation to make it very credible (she says "waddle in" to the situation, for example).
The story, if true, would make giving the committee chair to somebody other than Harman a good thing, in that she is suspected of mixed loyalties and that it would be imprudent to knowingly seat such a person as chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
The story, if true, also damages the Bush administration, and AG Gonzales in particular, for playing politics with a criminal investigation.
I personally think this is Washington as usual, with the only modest surprise being the publicity. Washington, DC is a snake pit.
I believe The Hill’s sources are not exactly correct. I hear that it was a couple in Florida with a police scanner that overheard the conversation, not the NSA.
(Or could it be . . . never mind.)
Harmon never got the chair position. Silvestre Reyes is the Chair of the committee.
“Did you miss the part where her conversation was with a suspected Israeli agent?”
Isn’t everyone? Especially if you get to set the definition.
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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If true, she should be removed from office if there was any misconduct, and prosecuted if there was criminal activity. If not, there's a problem within the government. If you're wiretapping Congresscritters, dems or reps, there better be a good reason.
We don't know. Neither does the writer of the referenced article (if in fact he got that info from an NSA "source" and didn't make it up).
From the article...
Harman wanted to chair the Intelligence Committee but was passed over by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Rep. Silvestre Reyes
http://intelligence.house.gov/MemberList.aspx
Reyes is still the chair. Harman isn't even listed as a member of the committee.
In a self-governing republic, Congressmen should get no more or less deference in that regard, compared with "Joe Citizen."
The only perks that Congressmen get in that regard is freedom from arrest going to session, and for what they say in session (which is obviously not a "surveillance" issue, since statements in session are akin to making public pronouncement).
The CQ story says her prosecution was shut down by AG Gonzales, in exchange for political support of the administration's TSP.
I'd wait to see if anything develops. Other stories name the "agent" as Haim Sabim, a media billionaire (Power Rangers, Fox Kids Network, now ABC and large Democrat donor. I sincerely hope the Bush administration wasn't attempting to wiretap conversations between Democrat donors. Yes he's pro-Israel, which doesn't make him an Israeli agent any more than the NRA is a potential terrorist group.
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