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.
I hope you're right, that there is something here, but note my post 60. If Saban was the "agent", there's something seriously amiss here. The fact that an American citizen is both a major donor to the Democrat party and pro-Israel doesn't equate with his being a foreign agent. There's some potential political embarassment here, and not for the dems. Still, we have to wait for the facts to come out.
No, they shouldn't, but if the Bush administration was taping, domesticly, an American citizen's conversations with a Congresswoman, because he was pro-Israel and a major Democrat donor, that's a very serious problem. I don't want administrations headed by either party doing that. Obviously all the facts aren't out, but they need to be. Then let the chips fall where they may.
BTW, if there was legitimate reason for a tap, and Gonzales shut it down for political reasons, that's not a good reflection on the prior administration.
Not the all too gentlemanly Pres Bush, but was wondering who else with access to federal govt files might do the blackmailing
remember in the 1990’s it was “first Lady” Hillary Clinton
not President Bill Clinton, who mined FBI files for blackmail data (errrr..... what the democrats call “opposition research”)
and it was a democrat congressman who had little old couples driving around in FL with cell phone eavesdropping equipment who just “happened” to catch and record a GOP congressman’s cell phone conversation that made it into the national news
You bet there's friction. Pelosi denied her the Chair of the Intel Committee when Harman was by far the most qualified and knowledgeable.
Even if he is the guy on the other end of the call, "maybe, maybe not" as to propriety of the search. W/O background justification, there's no way to tell. For all we know, the search was undertaken with a court warrant.
As for the source of the instant leak, most of the scuttlebutt I've found is looking at Rosen, and the pending espionage trial.
See Is AIPAC imploding? Why Steve Rosen is Suing AIPAC (April 11, 2009) and Dissident Voice : Why Steve Rosen is Suing AIPAC (April 8th, 2009)
Thanks. Looks like major moonbattery — she “changed the course of history” (iow, helped alter the inevitable election of the traitor John Kerry) by getting the NY Times to hold some meritless story (and just *how* did she do that?) that even the NY Times knew was bogus and didn’t use for agitprop. Even one of the DUmmies sort of sez so.
The information needs to come out. I sincerely hope there was a court order, with clearly valid grounds. I was trying to point out to the thread that per most sources this probably is a case of domestic surveilance. Which is perfectly legal as long as the laws are followed. Doesn’t really matter who the source is, but I doubt Rosen or his attorneys would have access to this information. It’s more likely someone at Justice.
—You bet there’s friction. Pelosi denied her the Chair of the Intel Committee when Harman was by far the most qualified and knowledgeable. —
Exactly. If you had to have a lib-dem chairing the Intel committee, Harman was the best you could have. Pelosi, for ideological reasons no doubt, replaced her with a flaming hack (Reyes).
Question: Can a Congressman (Congresswoman) influence a trial? I thought the Judiciary was independent.
I'm agnostic on presence of a court order, as long as the surveillance was "legal" as in within constitutional bounds. Domestic in location or not, the surveillance seems to have the element of "foreign intelligence information" attached to it, and that is the distinguishing quality. Statutory law now holds that 100% of international calls are open for warrantless review, as potentially being/containing "foreign intelligence."
I also don't believe the government when it says it follows privacy law.
-- I doubt Rosen or his attorneys would have access to this information. It’s more likely someone at Justice. --
A good set of links and speculation at TalkLeft: Who Was Harman Talking To?. Rosen or his attorneys might, via CIPA, have access to the noted transcript. They are entitled to put on a full defense.
No, just relevant as to why she would take action on behalf of AIPAC.
My take on the story is that Gonzales shut down the FBI investigation of Harman, not the surveillance. I agree, if true, it's "stinky," but as I said before, I also think it's an ordinary and common thing in Washington ("stinky business" is not exceptional in that cesspool).
This is a very intriguing story, in any event, that plays on several issues all at once.
How did you reach that conclusion? In 2007 and 2008 she had an ACU rating of O [zero].
Shouldn't be able to but I guess it's possible. If you were trying to impact the outcome, I'd assume you'd head for members of the judiciary committee in hopes of getting the prosecution dropped.
Yes, we’ll see, it’s a serious accusation, the truth should be allowed to come out.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the Chairman, has a higher ACU rating for 2007 (4) and 2008 (8) vice 0 for Harman. Here is his bio from his site:
Congressman Silvestre Reyes was first elected to the United States Congress in 1996, becoming the first Hispanic to represent the people of the 16th District of Texas. On January 6, 2009, Congressman Silvestre Reyes, was sworn into the 111th Congress by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, for a seventh consecutive term in the United States House of Representatives.
Reyes has devoted his life to public service. He first served his country in the United States Army in Vietnam from 1967 - 1969, and served as a helicopter crew chief. In 1969, he began his career with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), now known as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in the U.S. Border Patrol. In 1984, Reyes was named Sector Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, and managed operations in McAllen and El Paso, Texas from 1984 to 1995.
Known as "Silver" to his friends, Reyes retired in December 1995 after 26 1/2 years with the Border Patrol and was elected the following year to represent the people of the 16th District of Texas in the United States House of Representatives.
Why is Harman better than Reyes?
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