{"id":1966,"date":"2009-04-20T15:26:45","date_gmt":"2009-04-20T19:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2009-04-20T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2009-04-20T19:28:12","slug":"caught-on-tape-jane-harman-aipac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasetaro.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/20\/caught-on-tape-jane-harman-aipac\/","title":{"rendered":"Caught on Tape: Jane Harman & AIPAC"},"content":{"rendered":"

If even half of what’s alleged in this Congressional Quarterly report<\/a> is true Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and former attorney general Alberto Gonzales have a lot explaining to do:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Harman was recorded saying she would \u201cwaddle into\u201d the AIPAC case \u201cif you think it\u2019ll make a difference,\u201d according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.<\/p>\n

(Join Jeff Stein for a live online chat at 3:30 p.m. today about his story, or submit a question for Jeff.)<\/p>\n

In exchange for Harman\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, \u201cThis conversation doesn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harman declined to discuss the wiretap allegations, instead issuing an angry denial through a spokesman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact,\u201d Harman said in a prepared statement. \u201cI never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that allegations of pro-Israel lobbyists trying to help Harman get the chairmanship of the intelligence panel by lobbying and raising money for Pelosi aren\u2019t new.<\/p>\n

They were widely reported in 2006, along with allegations that the FBI launched an investigation of Harman that was eventually dropped for a \u201clack of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is new is that Harman is said to have been picked up on a court-approved NSA tap directed at alleged Israel covert action operations in Washington.<\/p>\n

And that, contrary to reports that the Harman investigation was dropped for \u201clack of evidence,\u201d it was Alberto R. Gonzales, President Bush\u2019s top counsel and then attorney general, who intervened to stop the Harman probe.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This stinks to high heaven, not simply because of allegations against Rep. Harman and former AG Gonzales, but because of the unprecedented leak of an NSA wiretap.<\/p>\n

That said there’s something fishy about this leak, NSA wiretaps are among the closely guarded, highly secret operations carried out by the federal Government. Even during the Bush years while various elements within the government were conducting a stealth campaign against the Administration’s War on terror policy’s via politically damaging leaks to the New York Times, no NSA wiretaps were released… I can’t help but think whoever leaked this transcript has an agenda and that is some sort of political payback.<\/p>\n

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