CA-36: Jane Harman in Major Scandal

CQ breaks a mindblowing story:

Rep. Jane Harman, the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington.

Harman was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference,” according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.

In exchange for Harman’s help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win.

Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”

Believe it or not, it actually gets worse – much worse. Harman was actually investigated for this previously, but new revelations indicate she got off the hook for the most odious of reasons:

[C]ontrary to reports that the Harman investigation was dropped for “lack of evidence,” it was Alberto R. Gonzales, President Bush’s top counsel and then attorney general, who intervened to stop the Harman probe.

Why? Because, according to three top former national security officials, Gonzales wanted Harman to be able to help defend the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, which was about break in The New York Times and engulf the White House.

And that’s exactly what she did:

Harman, [Gonazles] told [CIA Director Porter Goss], had helped persuade the newspaper to hold the wiretap story before, on the eve of the 2004 elections. And although it was too late to stop the Times from publishing now, she could be counted on again to help defend the program

[Gonzales] was right.

On Dec. 21, 2005, in the midst of a firestorm of criticism about the wiretaps, Harman issued a statement defending the operation and slamming the Times, saying, “I believe it essential to U.S. national security, and that its disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities.”

So, to recap: Harman, a member of the Blue Dogs, offered to help get espionage charges reduced against two AIPAC members, in exchange for an unnamed “Israeli agent” (the person on the other end of the call) lobbying Nancy Pelosi to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee. (Thankfully, Pelosi did not.)

Then, to make things far more ugly, Alberto Gonzales offered to drop the investigation of Harman’s Israeli quid pro quo so that she would help defend the Cheney Administration’s outrageous warantless wiretapping program, which she had done before and did again with gusto. Hell, you might even call this blackmail. I can’t think of much worse than this.

59 thoughts on “CA-36: Jane Harman in Major Scandal”

  1. First, what is meant by “suspected Israeli agent?” Second, who leaked this, and why? (Goss?) Third, if this is true, when did Nancy Pelosi know about it, and did it play any role in her decision to promote Reyes over Harman in Jan. ’07?

  2. This scandal does not involve sex, drugs, or a higher profile foreign government of “enemy” status. I expect the American public to not really care and for this to eventually blow over.

    If I’ve learned anything from the Bush administration, scandals don’t really matter, you can wait anything out and survive so long as you have never have to face re-election or your district has been gerrymandered in your favor, as is the case for Harman.

  3. The magic word “indictment” tends to change things a bit, guys.  I have no certainty that Harman will be prosecuted, but I’d say it is possible.  She was about to be prosecuted before Gonzales stopped it.

    So: what do Eric Holder and Rahm Emanuel want to do now?  And, is there any way to get Gonzales for this?  The blackmailee is the one who committed the crime, but the blackmailer (who also happened to be Attorney General!) surely committed one as well, no?

  4. 1) This story is planted by anonymous source(s).  So before we get too far ahead of ourselves lets not ignore the possibility the story itself holds no weight and are just smears by political enemies.

    One thing we learned from the Bushies is be VERY suspicious of stories where no one is going on the record.

    2) If this story IS true it represents a situation that is PROBABLY not illegal given how our system works but is patently unethical.

    We’re going to find these situations more and more now that we’re in a the majority.  Democrats who have crossed the line that we need to excise before their stench drowns us the way it did the Republicans.  One example in the future might be Charles Rangel.  A congressman I actually really like but one who has stepped on ethical minefield after minefield.  One more scandal and he probaby needs to be cut loose.

    3) AIPAC gets the most attention because of their high profile but also because of conspiratorialists.  AIPAC in someways enjoys the notoriety because it makes them seem more powerful than they are.  Other nations including India and China have their own groups that sometimes funnels money in often dubious ways.  To the extent AIPAC represent a “problem” it is one that extends to far more parties than just them.

  5. This is a sad story.

    First it illustrates – as several posters have pointed out – the depth of Israeli influence with specific members of our government and political establishment. That said, while Rep. Harman’s actions are certainly reprehensible, this isn’t the first time that Congress Members and Senators have gone out of their way to advance the interests of other nations with questionable regard to American interests. While I think Harman should be removed from office, this shocking revelation will hopefully spur more oversight and regulation of the lobby industry.

    In addition, Israel and its supporters do themselves a disservice by condemning criticism and critics of Israeli policies. Indeed the United States does Israel a disservice by reserving criticism and by supplying unconditional support. In so doing all we do is provide ammunition and justification to the legions of anti-Semites.

    I will be interested in how President Obama responds. Hopefully he can steer a new course. American-Israeli-Palestinian relations will be consistently deadlocked until the U.S. can steer a more balanced course.

  6. At the very least, she should step down from her post as chairperson of the Homeland Security Committee’s Intelligence/Sharing/Terrorism Subcomittee, until this matter is resolved.  Any work done under her risks being seen as tainted, even if she is innocent.

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