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You are here: Home / The wages of wiretapping Jane’s sedition?

The wages of wiretapping Jane’s sedition?

by DougJ|  April 20, 200912:28 am| 122 Comments

This post is in: Assholes

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No one could have predicted that Jane Harman would get caught on tape promising favors to AIPAC:

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.

It’s a kooky story — it was one of those controversial (read: probably illegal) it was some kind of NSA wiretap (I don’t know how permission to tap was granted, if at all) and Gonzo supposedly used this to blackmail Harman into supporting his wiretap program.

JMM and other people who understand all this better than I do have more on this.

The whole thing makes me laugh: sleazy “liberal hawk” Congresswoman gets wiretapped and then blackmailed by an even sleazier Attorney General. It’s the perfect story for our times, in many ways.

And I think we can all agree: shame on Nancy Pelosi for not letting Harman chair the Intelligence Committee. I’m fairly certain there’s a great deal of anti-Semitism at the root of all this.

I just hope that neither Harman nor Gonzo is prosecuted for any of this. Obama has so much on his plate already.

Update. I’m trying to understand the nature of the wiretap. The article states that “Then-CIA Director Porter J. Goss reviewed the Harman transcript and signed off on the Justice Department’s FISA application” so FISA wasn’t bypassed entirely. It’s also not clear to me why the call was wiretapped in the first place. I’m hoping someone who knows more about this will sort this out later. It’s possible that this is an example of the worst sort of wiretapping abuse, but it’s possible that it’s something else entirely. I can’t tell.

Updated update. Matt Yglesias makes the key point:

And of course it further confirms the point that wide-net surveillance authority is as likely to be used and abused for domestic political purposes as for counterterrorism.

Update update update: Marcy Wheeler says the wiretap was totally legit:

The CQ story makes it clear that this wiretap was court approved and was directed not at Harman, but at the suspected Israeli spy whom she was talking to.

[….]

In other words, the investigation–and the wiretaps–were the classic, proper use of FISA: for an intelligence investigation targeting suspected agents of a foreign power operating in the US. And it goes without saying that we all better hope the NSA listens closely to conversations between powerful members of Congress and suspected spies, and that when they make quid pro quo deals, that conversation gets looked at much more closely. This was a totally proper use of NSA wiretaps.

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122Comments

  1. 1.

    Comrade Stuck

    April 20, 2009 at 12:40 am

    Obstruction of justice picked up on an illegal wiretap from a congresswoman about Israeli agents used to blackmail said CW into supporting more illegal wiretaps. Wonder who owns the movie rights?

  2. 2.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 12:42 am

    …contrary 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.

    Could be all 2nd hand gossip. Maybe not. If the writer’s willing to mention 3 anonymous officials, the publication may stand by it.

    Paragraphing in blockquotes doesn’t seem to work anymore.

  3. 3.

    LiberalTarian

    April 20, 2009 at 12:43 am

    Fucking wild, eh?

    Do we have any meaningful laws in this country for ruling class???

  4. 4.

    flounder

    April 20, 2009 at 12:44 am

    I seem to remember her being locked up in this with all but the official stamp about the time she started kissing ass with the liberal blogosphere. What a crook…I hope she flames out. She is compromised for sure.

  5. 5.

    DougJ

    April 20, 2009 at 12:45 am

    She is compromised for sure.

    Do you think?

  6. 6.

    monkeyboy

    April 20, 2009 at 12:50 am

    I’m fairly certain there’s a great deal of anti-Semitism at the root of all this.

    I hope this is just some misdirected snark about someone hiding behind claims of anti-Semitism, but your subtlety has lost me.

  7. 7.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 12:53 am

    There’s also this:

    According to two officials privy to the events, Gonzales said he “needed Jane” to help support the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, which was about to be exposed by the New York Times.Harman, he told 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.He 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.”

    Wow. If true, thanks, thanks for that, Congressman Harman. I’m sure we’re all better off that John Kerry lost due to purple heart bandaids and your stellar work keeping our already lapdog media even lapdoggier.

  8. 8.

    Polish the Guillotines

    April 20, 2009 at 12:55 am

    As much as this just pisses me off and makes me want to polish the guillotines (and use them), I found this muy jilarioso:

    the alleged Israeli agent asked Harman if she could use any influence she had with Gonzales…. Harman responded that Gonzales would be a difficult task, because he “just follows White House orders”….

    Poor Alberto. No respect.

  9. 9.

    flounder

    April 20, 2009 at 12:57 am

    I meant to emphasize that it was known at least two years ago that she was compromised. That was when she actually started acting mortal, a complete 180 in terms of her temperament, and it was obvious she wasn’t her own person. I was hoping she lost the primary 2006.

  10. 10.

    GSD

    April 20, 2009 at 1:00 am

    Wow, just wow.

    This poses quite a dilemma for lots of the beltway Twitteratti.

    How to pump this story without focusing on the horrid and repeated efforts of Israel and their tools to spy on their greatest benefactor, the US of A.

    Ugly story…..Harman must be chomping on Rolaids by the handfull.

    -GSD

  11. 11.

    flounder

    April 20, 2009 at 1:04 am

    lapdoggier

    El Cid, that is my new favorite word.

  12. 12.

    JK

    April 20, 2009 at 1:09 am

    The last damn thing the Democrats need now is this effing scandal.

    All the usual blowhard douchebags: Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs will go balls to the wall smearing Harman and Pelosi.

  13. 13.

    laxel

    April 20, 2009 at 1:09 am

    Makes me wonder what the hell they got on Jello Jay Rockefeller… pure speculation, but I’m guessing NSA found out he’s a fanatic collector of 40’s era show tunes. If WV voters had got a hold of his ebay history, would’ve been all she wrote.

  14. 14.

    Mrs. Peel

    April 20, 2009 at 1:12 am

    smearing Harman and Pelosi.

    Why Pelosi? She kicked Harman’s ass to the curb.

  15. 15.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 1:14 am

    All the usual dochebags: Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs will go balls to the wall smearing Harman and Pelosi.

    It will be interesting. Usually they compete to see who can be the most pro-Israel-hawk toadie. Will they really be able to completely not mention that Harman was working for the apparent interests of AIPAC, whom these guys regularly support and have advocates on their programs?

  16. 16.

    va

    April 20, 2009 at 1:15 am

    I have to wonder how many other people the Bush admin blackmailed to toe the line. Mukasey leaps to mind.

  17. 17.

    srv

    April 20, 2009 at 1:17 am

    @Mrs. Peel: You must think the California girls all like each other.

    And just where the hell is the “Gonzo Job Watch” website? How is it this guy doesn’t have a job yet?

  18. 18.

    Mrs. Peel

    April 20, 2009 at 1:23 am

    I have to wonder how many other people the Bush admin blackmailed to toe the line.

    So true. Anyone who doesn’t think every politician in the country wasn’t included in all the warrentless info vacuuming that ChimpCo demanded is too delusional to even attempt to dress themselves correctly.

  19. 19.

    Polish the Guillotines

    April 20, 2009 at 1:25 am

    @El Cid:

    All the usual dochebags: Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs will go balls to the wall smearing Harman and Pelosi.

    …
    It will be interesting. Usually they compete to see who can be the most pro-Israel-hawk toadie. Will they really be able to completely not mention that Harman was working for the apparent interests of AIPAC, whom these guys regularly support and have advocates on their programs?

    And here’s where I think there’s something bigger brewing: I think Obama’s looking to marginalize AIPAC — take them out of the equation with regard to reaching a two state solution with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

    Sure, the GOP and its mouthpieces will try to paint this as a Dem scandal, but the real game is to make AIPAC toxic.

    All pure speculation on my part, but not implausible.

  20. 20.

    KCinDC

    April 20, 2009 at 1:28 am

    Why Pelosi? She kicked Harman’s ass to the curb.

    You think that’s going to make a difference to the babbling heads? They had no problem smearing Obama with the Blagojevich scandal despite the tapes of Blago cursing Obama.

    Avoiding mentioning AIPAC negatively will be a little trickier, but I have no doubt they can manage it.

  21. 21.

    scott

    April 20, 2009 at 1:29 am

    i wish they all could be California girls….

  22. 22.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 1:30 am

    @KCinDC: What, will they just say “an alleged foreign interest group”?

    I dunno, seems like that would be begging to get Dershowitz to come scream at their studios. John Bolton might even throw staplers at them.

  23. 23.

    JK

    April 20, 2009 at 1:33 am

    @El Cid: The blowhard douchebag brigade will cherry pick and airbrush this story (minimizing AIPAC and demonizing Harman and Pelosi)

    They won’t be able to resist the urge to kick Harman and Pelosi to the curb and then stomp on them the way Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci stomped on Frank Vincent in Goodfellas.

  24. 24.

    Mrs. Peel

    April 20, 2009 at 1:35 am

    The blowhard douchebag brigade will cherry pick this story.

    More like turd sorting than cherry picking.

  25. 25.

    Warren Terra

    April 20, 2009 at 1:42 am

    Somehow I suspect that Gonzo’s famously fallible memory is a wee bit hazy on all this.

    On the Gonzo Job question, I seem to recall that as of a few months ago he was unemployed but thought that, like Ashcroft, he had been given one of these incestuous deals where federal judges overseeing a complex financial settlemwnt ir some such can appoint just about anyone they like to be in charge of it, such as for example someone to whom they owe their judgeship, billing against the settlement at a truly awesome hourly rate.

  26. 26.

    eemom

    April 20, 2009 at 1:44 am

    “I’m fairly certain there’s a great deal of anti-Semitism at the root of all this.”

    You know, I really wish you wouldn’t trivialize anti-Semitism.

    I’ll grant that it’s used as a catch-all response by assorted neocons and other wingnuts. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, nor that no anti-Israel sentiment anywhere is ever motivated by it.

  27. 27.

    JK

    April 20, 2009 at 1:52 am

    @Mrs. Peel: Funny you should put it way. Mr. Turd Blossom himself Karl Rove will undoubtedly be called upon by Fox News to smack Harman and Pelosi upside the head with this scandal.

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    April 20, 2009 at 1:52 am

    va:

    I have to wonder how many other people the Bush admin blackmailed to toe the line. Mukasey leaps to mind.

    That seems doubtful. Not impossible, of course, but were that the case, it seems unlikely that Mukasey would continue to defend Bush & Cheney’s record on torture now that they’re out of power.

    One would think blackmailed people generally don’t continue to defend their blackmailers once the blackmailers have lost their leverage.

    .

  29. 29.

    TenguPhule

    April 20, 2009 at 1:58 am

    Do we have any meaningful laws in this country for ruling class???

    Yes, off with their heads.

  30. 30.

    Thankovsky

    April 20, 2009 at 1:58 am

    @JK:

    I’m not sure Tweety belongs in that group in any case, and I especially doubt he’ll smear Pelosi. His opinion of her always seems to be pretty glowing; it sounds like they’re friendly on a personal level, if not necessarily outright friends.

    As for the story at hand, I’m disappointed, but I’m also pretty relieved that Obama didn’t pick Harman as CIA Director – as many on the blogosphere were rather short-sightedly demanding.

  31. 31.

    NR

    April 20, 2009 at 2:04 am

    @JGabriel: If Bush administration officials have damaging blackmail material over someone, why would it matter that they’re out of power? The leverage comes from the blackmail material, not official governmental powers.

  32. 32.

    JK

    April 20, 2009 at 2:14 am

    @Thankovsky: I’ll give you this. Chris Matthews is more of a smarmy, babbling idiot than a partisan hack like the other douchebags (Hannity, Beck, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, and Scarborough).

    The right wing never tires of mentioning that stupid quote from Matthews about Obama sending a thrill up his leg but he also expressed great affection for McCain and Giuliani during the presidential campaign.

    I remember Matthews once saying that if you were sitting alone in a subway car, you’d feel safer knowing that Giuliani was nearby.

    I think Matthews’ first loyalty is to ratings and I think he’d run over his own wife to boost them up a few points.

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne

    April 20, 2009 at 2:14 am

    I can’t decide if I’m glad not to be in Harman’s district anymore or mad because I don’t get to vote against her anymore. Because she is, was, and always has been a douche.

  34. 34.

    Thankovsky

    April 20, 2009 at 2:16 am

    @JK:
    I think Matthews simply suffers from diarrhea of the mouth.

  35. 35.

    Ed Marshall

    April 20, 2009 at 2:18 am

    This never happened. You will never hear about this story every again. It doesn’t matter, go about your business.

  36. 36.

    JGabriel

    April 20, 2009 at 2:19 am

    @NR:

    The leverage comes from the blackmail material, not official governmental powers.

    Fair enough, good point.

    .

  37. 37.

    Funkhauser

    April 20, 2009 at 2:45 am

    I’m shocked, just shocked, that Steve Clemons would substitute his rolodex for his brain.

  38. 38.

    Johnny Pez

    April 20, 2009 at 2:55 am

    Okay, who had “Bushies using illegal wiretaps to blackmail Congressional Democrats” in the pool?

  39. 39.

    LiberalTarian

    April 20, 2009 at 2:59 am

    @TenguPhule:

    Seems to be the only meaningful law, eh?

  40. 40.

    va

    April 20, 2009 at 3:11 am

    Emptywheel, October 30, 2007: “How nice, that the one Democrat [Harman] who gave approval to this illegal [wiretapping] program is the one now negotiating immunity for them. Not a conflict of interest there, not at all.”

    And Harman’s response, plus Marcy’s analysis.

  41. 41.

    Brandon T

    April 20, 2009 at 3:29 am

    @JK:

    All the usual dochebags: Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and Lou Dobbs will go balls to the wall smearing Harman and Pelosi.

    Wrong. No way the conservatards (or even Matthews probably) really address this story (they may mention it in passing). First, it involves addressing the AIPAC intelligence case, which they’ve all been avoiding like the plague because they don’t want to be seen as anti-Israel. Second, it involves questionable conduct by the Bush DOJ, and Gonzales directly.

  42. 42.

    AnneLaurie

    April 20, 2009 at 4:10 am

    No way the conservatards (or even Matthews probably) really address this story (they may mention it in passing). First, it involves addressing the AIPAC intelligence case, which they’ve all been avoiding like the plague because they don’t want to be seen as anti-Israel. Second, it involves questionable conduct by the Bush DOJ, and Gonzales directly.

    In the Faux News universe, it will be Jane Harman, Agent of DemonRats, blackmailing the poor simple-minded fReichtards at the DoJ with her vile feminazi powers in order to do… sumthin BAAAD… at the behest of sum-furrin-sumbiddy… as part of the vile DemonRat Plot to install Barack Hussein Muhammed X Obama as Supreme Dictator ! eleventy-one ! ! !

  43. 43.

    Mike D.

    April 20, 2009 at 4:47 am

    Wow, this post gives Harman all kinds of benefit of the doubt. Gonzales had to have blackmailed her; there couldn’t have been any mutual interest in keeping both the investigation and the extent of illegal wiretapping under wraps.

  44. 44.

    Mike D.

    April 20, 2009 at 4:47 am

    Wow, this post gives Harman all kinds of benefit of the doubt. Gonzales had to have blackmailed her; there couldn’t have been any mutual interest in keeping both the investigation and the extent of illegal wiretapping under wraps.

  45. 45.

    Napoleon

    April 20, 2009 at 5:11 am

    Wow, just wow.

    but the real game is to make AIPAC toxic.

    I suspect that explains the timing.

  46. 46.

    rumpole

    April 20, 2009 at 7:24 am

    I’m not 100% sure, but I think Harman might be immune from all this. First, Congress critters are immune from actions that they might take in the course of their representation under the speech and debate clause, so anything that they do legislatively can’t be admissible in a corruption trial. That’s why quid pro quo evidence is so important. I just don’t know if the privilege applies in this circumstance, so she may skate. I suspect it does not if the QpQ can be proven but again, I don’t know.

    Second, what is as interesting is that Gonzo basically blackmailed her into supporting a federal felony. While the telecoms were immunized retroactively, I’m not sure anyone else was. Lawyer up, Jane. You’re going to need one.

  47. 47.

    4tehlulz

    April 20, 2009 at 7:29 am

    the real game is to make AIPAC toxic.

    If he pulls it off, I will giggle like a schoolgirl.

  48. 48.

    sparky

    April 20, 2009 at 7:34 am

    interesting gambit by someone.
    it could just be the simple point: this is a warning to anyone else who is thinking about meddling in investigating AIPAC-related uh meddling–if you do it we’re going to let the public know. i think it’s wishful thinking to imagine that AIPAC is going to be hurt by this. the general public will never hear of it in an understandable fashion. we’ll see if the GOP think tank comes up with a strategy to use this against the Ds but i think they will just stay mum.

    i think the other suggestions are a bit fanciful, with the possible exception of someone just having it in for Harman for some reason. sometimes payback IS a bitch.

  49. 49.

    sublime

    April 20, 2009 at 7:46 am

    So when is the story about Joe Lieberman getting wiretapped going to surface? Mr. Stockholm Syndrome is hiding something big.

  50. 50.

    Napoleon

    April 20, 2009 at 8:13 am

    @rumpole:

    First, Congress critters are immune from actions that they might take in the course of their representation under the speech and debate clause, so anything that they do legislatively can’t be admissible in a corruption trial.

    I thought the seach and debate clause was very limited to basically what they say on the floor during a debate, which clearly doesn’t apply to what she was doing.

  51. 51.

    Continuum

    April 20, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Through its support of the rightwing zealots in the current Israeli government, AIPAC has now succeeded in subverting the government of the United States.

    Is it any wonder that reasonable Americans have begun to question the US support of the current Israeli regime that seems to be more interested in expanding territory than achieving a just peace in the Middle East.

    The American support for the Israeli government seems to be comprised of religious zealots both Christian Evangelical as well as Jewish, and coupled with a cynical rightwing neocon GOP that views this support as a path to its own political power.

    AIPAC needs to be disbanded, and the Mossad agents within it should be prosecuted. The “wink-wink, nod-nod” given to Israeli rightwing subversion and spying should be abolished.

  52. 52.

    MikeJ

    April 20, 2009 at 8:31 am

    I thought the seach and debate clause was very limited to basically what they say on the floor during a debate, which clearly doesn’t apply to what she was doing.

    Any preparation, any hearing, consultation with staff (who are also covered) is covered. Gravel (yes, the candidate who threw the rock in the pond) is really the touchstone case.

  53. 53.

    JL

    April 20, 2009 at 8:35 am

    John Kerry won’t be having lunch with Jane anytime soon.

    Harman, he told 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

  54. 54.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    April 20, 2009 at 8:36 am

    So is this the House member that everyone was speculating about being on NSA taps last week? Or is this a different case?

  55. 55.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 8:42 am

    I guess Harman was right to argue that NSA warrantless wiretapping was necessary to protect the U.S. government from manipulation by foreign interests.

  56. 56.

    DougJ

    April 20, 2009 at 8:47 am

    You know, I really wish you wouldn’t trivialize anti-Semitism.

    Anti-Semitism is trivialized by those who call everyone who criticizes Israel an anti-Semite.

    What’s absurd and offensive is when Marty Peretz et al. conflate Judaism with AIPAC and the Likud party.

  57. 57.

    JL

    April 20, 2009 at 8:51 am

    @El Cid: Maybe she’ll use that as her justification.

  58. 58.

    anonevent

    April 20, 2009 at 8:59 am

    @4tehlulz: If he pulls this off, All I can say is that I’m glad he’s on our side.

  59. 59.

    Comrade Jake

    April 20, 2009 at 9:09 am

    OT, but I can’t believe that Gingrich is now on Good Morning America making a big deal about Obama’s handshake with Chavez.

  60. 60.

    Cat Lady

    April 20, 2009 at 9:12 am

    @DougJ:

    Anti-Semitism is trivialized by those who call everyone who criticizes Israel an anti-Semite.

    Exactly. Since Joe Klein experienced the wrath of the Commentary crowd for calling them out for dual loyalty and using “anti-Semitism” in order to silence his and other’s criticism of their policies, he has dropped all the false equivalencies he used to use against the DFH’s, and has become a much clearer-eyed commenter. Eric Alterman’s long standing revulsion of Peretz has made him a “self-hating Jew” in the eyes of the neo-cons, for the same reasons, and for much longer.

  61. 61.

    4tehlulz

    April 20, 2009 at 9:13 am

    Hmmmm.

    Imagine Rahm Emanuel and Benjamin Netanyahu in Monday Night Raw, WWE’s weekly wrestler smackdown. Emanuel is laying down the law for Israel, making it clear that President Barack Obama wants West Bank territory returned to the Palestinians in exchange for U.S. help in dealing with Iran.

    Someone know Vince McMahon? I would pay to see Rahm vs. Bibi in a steel-cage deathmatch.

  62. 62.

    MikeJ

    April 20, 2009 at 9:14 am

    so FISA wasn’t bypassed entirely. It’s also not clear to me why the call was wiretapped in the first place. I’m hoping someone who knows more about this will sort this out later.

    Well, FISA courts are the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance courts, so the target (at least one side of the conversation) should have been foreign or the agent of a foreign country. That appears to be the case.

    I have a lot more faith in the FISA courts now than I did pre-9/11. Until Bush came into office the FISA courts had NEVER turned down a warrant. The Bush administration was so incompetent/power-mad that they finally got a kangaroo court to say no to some requests. Knowing that CKK is one of the judges also gives me more faith in them. She seems pretty darned smart and honest in everything I’ve read.

  63. 63.

    benjoya

    April 20, 2009 at 9:16 am

    @The Grand Panjandrum:

    Not sure, but the story from last week was about a wiretap that wasn’t approved, on a congresscritter abroad. Seems like this is a different story (the tap on Harman had a warrant). Wow, couldn’t happen to a nicer shill.

  64. 64.

    Keith G

    April 20, 2009 at 9:16 am

    @Polish the Guillotines: I like your thinking. From your key board to Rahm’s ear.

  65. 65.

    Tim F.

    April 20, 2009 at 9:17 am

    Someone has probably already pointed out that the feds were actively investigating AIPAC for espionage at the time. Jane mostly likely got caught on a tap that targeted the guy on the other end of the line.

  66. 66.

    Punchy

    April 20, 2009 at 9:21 am

    So who’s tapping Jane Harmon? Is her husband aware?

  67. 67.

    omen

    April 20, 2009 at 9:35 am

    when does steve rosen go to trial to face charges of espionage? let me guess, it’s not going to be televised?

  68. 68.

    John Cole

    April 20, 2009 at 9:40 am

    Screw AIPAC, when is Jon Chait going to tell us what the Tibetan Free Movement has on Harman?

  69. 69.

    Emma Anne

    April 20, 2009 at 9:59 am

    @va:

    Emptywheel, October 30, 2007

    Wow. Once again the DFH’s were right.

    The administration *was* blackmailing Dem legislators to get them to support their heinous programs. I believed this – but I didn’t really *believe* it. I wonder who else was being blackmailed. I figure Rockefeller for sure.

  70. 70.

    NonyNony

    April 20, 2009 at 10:00 am

    It’s also not clear to me why the call was wiretapped in the first place. I’m hoping someone who knows more about this will sort this out later. It’s possible that this is an example of the worst sort of wiretapping abuse, but it’s possible that it’s something else entirely. I can’t tell.

    Marcy Wheeler points out that the CQ story says that Harman wasn’t the target of the wiretaps, she was recorded talking to the guy who was the suspected spy. So this was all probably done quite legally.

    Which means she’s not only corrupt and morally bankrupt, but she’s also a fucking idiot. She sat on the Intelligence Committee, but she didn’t know enough not to use her fucking phone to talk about getting the DoJ to stop the investigations into foreign espionage allegations? That’s about the stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard of.

  71. 71.

    benjoya

    April 20, 2009 at 10:01 am

    @John Cole:

    hee hee

  72. 72.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 10:07 am

    Marcy Wheeler points out that the CQ story says that Harman wasn’t the target of the wiretaps, she was recorded talking to the guy who was the suspected spy. So this was all probably done quite legally.

    Those of us who objected to this bullshit “we got to spy without warrants for security!” argument have long pointed out how easy it would be to make a lazy hand-waving gesture towards saying the target of your secret wiretap was some purported foreign terrorist or agent and then happily go off spying on whomever you wanted as long as you made some lazy effort to connect your preferred target with the original alleged terrorist or foreign agent.

    Maybe a lot of people talked to these AIPAC reps. Maybe a lot of members of Congress, aides, and others not only talked to them but to the other people to whom the AIPAC reps talked.

    Who knows how many people were tapped as part of this direct and indirect web of connections?

  73. 73.

    4tehlulz

    April 20, 2009 at 10:08 am

    @NonyNony: Even better, the spy couldn’t deliver…..

  74. 74.

    Zandar

    April 20, 2009 at 10:10 am

    Seems to me the intel community is playing hardball.

  75. 75.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 20, 2009 at 10:10 am

    @Mrs. Peel, Exactly. We thought it must be photographic evidence, but wiretapping all of congress would have been much more efficient. They certainly spent the Bush years behaving like scared rabbits.

    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.”

    What a neat little package of blackmail. Even better (since Harman didn’t have any influence anyway) if the Bushies had sent the Israeli agent to go talk to her with this plausible excuse, just to get her on tape.

    El Cid: Who knows how many people were tapped as part of this direct and indirect web of connections?

    Exactly, and is the Israeli agent, really *just* an Israeli agent, or is it being directed by the Administration. I don’t give them credit for much brain power, but this would be just too easy.

  76. 76.

    Phoenix Woman

    April 20, 2009 at 10:16 am

    I think that AIPAC was trying to cast about for the next Jonathan Pollard and our intel boys and girls got wind of it.

    I hope that Rahm Emanuel takes this revelation, puts some Habanero sauce on it, and shoves it down the throat of the hard-right-wing Israeli nutjob lawmaker who just tried to put the squeeze on him: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/20/rightwing-israeli-lawmake_n_188878.html

  77. 77.

    Vlad

    April 20, 2009 at 10:19 am

    Anybody else read this the first time through as Jane Hamsher, not Jane Harman?

    Confused the hell out of me…

  78. 78.

    Phoenix Woman

    April 20, 2009 at 10:20 am

    @El Cid:

    The suspicion is that the CIA and FBI, both of whom are still quite pissed off over the Jonathan Pollard incident, were trying to stop AIPAC from setting up another spy — one who would have had ties to a powerful (and stupid) Congresscritter.

  79. 79.

    Dennis-SGMM

    April 20, 2009 at 10:21 am

    All of the members of Congress were wiretapped. The taps revealed that the Representatives and Senators are bought and paid for by powerful corporations and more interested in being re-elected than in acting for the greater good.

  80. 80.

    Svensker

    April 20, 2009 at 10:22 am

    @va:

    I have to wonder how many other people the Bush admin blackmailed to toe the line. Mukasey leaps to mind.

    No, Mukasey is fanatically pro-Israel and hates Muslims. He didn’t need to be blackmailed to be a douche.

  81. 81.

    El Cid

    April 20, 2009 at 10:33 am

    @Phoenix Woman: No, please don’t think my comments were directed at this specific event. I understand that this was reportedly a distinct, known target for whom the warrant was issued. I get it.

    But why else do you argue vehemently for warrantless wiretapping if not to avoid legal strictures on the targets and methods of surveillance? You don’t need to argue loud & proud for warrantless surveillance (which this incident reportedly was not) because you think you’ve got an open-and-shut case for a warrant.

  82. 82.

    Balconesfault

    April 20, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Correcting Yglesias:

    And of course it further confirms the point that wide-net surveillance authority is as likely to more likely to be used and abused for domestic political purposes as for counterterrorism.

    This is a corrolary to the argument that torture is more likely to produce confessions expeditious to the goal of the torturers, than to produce actionable intelligence.

  83. 83.

    alec

    April 20, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Why would an Israeli agent bother trying to bribe some meaningless Representative? Don’t they already have enough Israeli moles in the Senate (Liebermann, Fienstein, Schumer, etc.)?

  84. 84.

    Balconesfault

    April 20, 2009 at 10:45 am

    @Svensker:

    No, Mukasey is fanatically pro-Israel and hates Muslims. He didn’t need to be blackmailed to be a douche.

    I still hold a pretty strong grudge against Schumer over that one.

  85. 85.

    Ash Can

    April 20, 2009 at 10:46 am

    @Phoenix Woman:

    I hope that Rahm Emanuel takes this revelation, puts some Habanero sauce on it, and shoves it down the throat of the hard-right-wing Israeli nutjob lawmaker who just tried to put the squeeze on him:

    Wow, you said it. That’s just shameful. Not surprising, but nonetheless shameful. I hope Rahm tears this guy a few new ones first chance he gets. People like him need to be called out for the subversives they are.

  86. 86.

    Jay C

    April 20, 2009 at 11:09 am

    Call me a cockeyed optimist, maybe, but the more I read about the Harman wiretapping story, the more I see this as another big WIN for Team Obama – on several levels (at least as far as public perceptions are concerned).

    1) It will make AIPAC and its DC/media enablers look bad (main target, Bibi Netanyahu, probably); 2) Congress will go ballistic over being the target of wiretaps – and maybe reinstate proper controls; 3) It’s another Bush-era scandal Obama can reap credit for “cleaning up”; 4) Wingnut criticism will (as commenters have noted) probably be muted.

    So, IMO anyway, the outcome for the Administration (if the spin is handled properly) has the potential to live up to the usual standard for the Obama crew: win-win-win-win.

    Yes, we can!

  87. 87.

    Brandon

    April 20, 2009 at 11:23 am

    The suspected “Israeli agent” is purported to be Haim Saban. It is important to note that Saban hated Obama and it appears that he did not donate to him for the general election. So while the stories say that Saban was a “major donor” to the Dem party, he was totally on the outs with Obama. In fact, in an interview with CNBC he even threatened Obama. He was a bigtime Hillary booster from the primaries and according to Fundrace, he was a Bush donor in ’04 and does not appear to have donated to Obama in ’08.

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=704933734

    His politics start at about the 1:40 mark. About Obama, he says,

    “If he does get the nomination, we are going to have to have a meeting. If his answers compel us [why the plural?], we will be there. It’s going to be a difficult test even for a great orator, to explain certain things.”

  88. 88.

    b-psycho

    April 20, 2009 at 11:24 am

    @Continuum: Exactly.

  89. 89.

    Nick

    April 20, 2009 at 11:24 am

    I am constantly finding myself walking the line between seeing Jewish Americans as allies in the struggle for secular government and religious freedom, and as enemies because so many of them seem to support Israel over everything.

  90. 90.

    gocart mozart

    April 20, 2009 at 11:27 am

    I got your quid pro quo right here.
    via steve bennen at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/ .

    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.”

    I reccomend she consult with counsel.

  91. 91.

    Tsulagi

    April 20, 2009 at 11:38 am

    No one could have predicted that Jane Harman would get caught on tape
    ..
    Gonzo supposedly used this to blackmail Harman
    ..
    This was a totally proper use of NSA wiretaps.

    Given recent positions in court, seems Obama admin would agree. Plus taking it a few steps further now arguing in the EFF action even if wiretaps or any other communications are illegally obtained and used, there is no recourse under authority granted by the Patriot Act. State secrets and all that.

    Of course, no one could predict a future president and/or AG would abuse that executive power. It would be unpossible for them to be tempted to do anything like that for crass political or personal gain. You betcha.

  92. 92.

    sparky

    April 20, 2009 at 11:40 am

    Pat Lang is pretty funny (and dead-on) about this.
    Also, I have to agree that Harmon is an imbecile for having this discussion on an open phone line. But that’s what happens with the upper class–they get a little too comfortable with status and forget what the little people may say if the spotlight falls on them. Still, nothing’s gonna happen because NOBODY other than whoever leaked this wants it to happen.

    oh, and this isn’t an NSA wiretap–just plain old bonus wiretap candy. as PL said, this is just like Rod B. on tape. maybe just as stupid, too. i still think this was just a warning shot across the bow from someone in DOJ or the FBI saying don’t screw with our AIPAC-related investigations or you will be seen in a rather unflattering light.

  93. 93.

    itsbenj

    April 20, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Indeed. Last week when the story emerged that ‘a member of Congress was wiretapped’, and people were running around with their hair on fire saying “this will be the last straw, now Feinstein will investigate!” etc etc, it all seemed pretty backward to me.

    Why isn’t EVERYTHING out politicians say and do wiretapped? Why isn’t their behavior monitored? I certainly wouldn’t have any problem with that. They serve at the pleasure of the public, we pay their salary, and they work for us. Ordinary citizens have the right to be protected from government surveillance, but those who comprise the government – I’m all kinds of in favor of their behavior being much, much more closely monitored as a matter of course.

  94. 94.

    Comrade Kevin

    April 20, 2009 at 11:49 am

    @itsbenj:

    Why isn’t EVERYTHING out politicians say and do wiretapped?

    Because it’s illegal? Being elected to office doesn’t strip a person of their constitutional rights.

  95. 95.

    Darius

    April 20, 2009 at 11:50 am

    This was a totally proper use of NSA wiretaps.

    The wiretap itself may have been legit, but there are some serious questions about what the Bush administration did with the information they got from it. Did they effectively blackmail Harman into supporting an extension of their warrantless wiretapping program?

    This is precisely why there needs to be additional safeguards when dealing with wiretaps of major political figures, to avoid politicization of the intelligence-gathering process.

  96. 96.

    Glidwrith

    April 20, 2009 at 11:55 am

    I may be wrong about Harman heading up the Intelligence Committee, but I read an article analyzing the politics of the situation and remember that Harman simply wasn’t eligible for the position because of rules governing the committee……maybe Digby or C&L. Sorry.

    Also, John – your comment about the heart of all this being anti-Semitism demonstrates your wing-nut roots showing. I couldn’t care less who has what religion, but I do object to foreign interests (no matter who they are) dictating US policy. No anti-semitism need be present.

  97. 97.

    Mary

    April 20, 2009 at 11:57 am

    DougJ:

    AIPAC’s lobbying for Harman to be given the Chair of the Intelligence Committee was indeed heavy. Sigh. Steve Clemons also signed an iteration of the PNAC papers back in the day.

  98. 98.

    Cat Lady

    April 20, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Haim Saban’s name is being kicked around as the Israeli agent, and he was behind the attempted extortion of Nancy Pelosi (albeit publicly) to back off getting the super-delegates to line up behind Obama instead of Hillary during the primaries. A fun thought experiment is to imagine Hillary as president now, having as her patron an Israeli spy. That would trigger peak wingnut, right there.

  99. 99.

    Andrew

    April 20, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Saban’s real crime was inflicting Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers upon us.

  100. 100.

    John Cole

    April 20, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Also, John – your comment about the heart of all this being anti-Semitism demonstrates your wing-nut roots showing.

    What on earth are you talking about?

  101. 101.

    Mary

    April 20, 2009 at 12:17 pm

    The usual suspects are out spinning for Harman (cough,
    Goldberg, cough). In view of the fact that AIPAC did in fact lobby heavily for Harman and that they are spinning for her now, it makes you wonder.

  102. 102.

    Glidwrith

    April 20, 2009 at 12:27 pm

    OOPS, my apologies John – DougJ was the author of this article and it didn’t register. Need more caffeine……

  103. 103.

    gil mann

    April 20, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    You know, I really wish you wouldn’t trivialize anti-Semitism.

    Anti-Semitism is trivialized by those who call everyone who criticizes Israel an anti-Semite.

    What’s absurd and offensive is when Marty Peretz et al. conflate Judaism with AIPAC and the Likud party.

    Good response, DougJ. I would’ve gone with “translation: why do people insist on not having the exact same sense of humor I do?” That’s why you’re the judge and I’m the law talkin’ guy.

    Not that I care, this just seemed like a good opportunity to get to the bottom of the post-redesign blockquoting issues. Let’s see if I made any headway.

  104. 104.

    gil mann

    April 20, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Nope. Damn, I actually thought myself rather clever for a second there.

  105. 105.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    April 20, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    DougJ, catching up on Balloon-Juice and I can’t figure out what the hell you are trying to say in this post. I assume you are using sarcasm but keep in mind that sarcasm only has meaning to people who know what your actual position is.

    I like you so I am going to give you a couple tips:

    Drop the sarcasm for front page posts. It works okay in a commenting format but for front page stuff you need to just say what you mean and mean what you say. You have a forum for influencing opinion, don’t waste it with comment-caliber sarcasm.

    Capitalize all the significant words in your post titles. While I like being able to instantly tell the difference between John’s posts and yours based on the capitalized words, it really looks unprofessional to leave your post titles largely uncapitalized.

    Keep up the good work!

  106. 106.

    Comrade Darkness

    April 20, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Also, John – your comment about the heart of all this being anti-Semitism demonstrates your wing-nut roots showing.

    I thought that was snark. I need another cup of coffee, apparently.

  107. 107.

    DougJ

    April 20, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    I thought that was snark.

    Of course it was snark.

  108. 108.

    gil mann

    April 20, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    I assume you are using sarcasm but keep in mind that sarcasm only has meaning to people who know what your actual position is.

    Or people who know what sarcasm is.

    What the hell’s going on here? Did the regulars get name-jacked by Huffington Post commenters?

  109. 109.

    Glidwrith

    April 20, 2009 at 1:13 pm

    Oh, so glad it was snark – more caffeine; I can’t handle nutjob boot to the head first thing in the morning, especially on a site where I’m expecting them to get kicked.

  110. 110.

    srv

    April 20, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    Jeff Stein will be taking questions at 3pm EST

    http://innovation.cq.com/liveonline/54/landing

  111. 111.

    Thankovsky

    April 20, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    No condescension here.

    I may be using sarcasm there, though, but given that you don’t know my actual position, perhaps you’ll never know for sure.

    @gil mann:

    This. A thousand times this. Few things in politics drive me crazier than the conflation of Israel’s right to exist with slavish support for the Likud Lobby. In the American political arena, one apparently can’t have one without the other.

    I find it to be deliciously ironic that the GOP – once supposedly the bastion of foreign policy realism – is now the standard bearer for this idiocy, when it was originally foreign policy realist guru Hans Morgenthau who proclaimed, “Never allow a weak ally to make decisions for you.”

  112. 112.

    Dude in Jersey

    April 20, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    @gil mann: Hey, that was sarcastic!

  113. 113.

    EJ

    April 20, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    As a resident of California’s 36th District, this is great news.

    I can haz gud congressperson now?

  114. 114.

    JL

    April 20, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    Has the MSM media covered this at all?
    Even though Doug appeared to be sarcastic, he is probably right that the focus will be on Pelosi.

    And I think we can all agree: shame on Nancy Pelosi for not letting Harman chair the Intelligence Committee. I’m fairly certain there’s a great deal of anti-Semitism at the root of all this.

  115. 115.

    omen

    April 20, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    i remember when former reagan appointed cia director william webster argued against casting such a wide net and being indiscriminate in sucking up data. doing so makes it harder to fish through and decipher. it ties up extra time and prevents agents from actually getting to relevant information in a timely manner.

  116. 116.

    Woody

    April 20, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    Imagine Rahm Emanuel and Benjamin Netanyahu in Monday Night Raw, WWE’s weekly wrestler smackdown. Emanuel is laying down the law for Israel, making it clear that President Barack Obama wants West Bank territory returned to the Palestinians in exchange for U.S. help in dealing with Iran.

    That’s some imagination you got there, fella…

    You got a license for that thing?

  117. 117.

    Mary-A

    April 20, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    @Comrade Kevin:
    “Being elected to office doesn’t strip a person of their constitutional rights.”

    Agreed-but my boss has every legal authority to read my e-mails and can view my computer screen anytime he wants from his office.

    What is the legality of monitoring their in-office, official lines of communication? We are kind of the boss, arent we?

  118. 118.

    sparky

    April 21, 2009 at 11:54 am


    i see my inference about the timing was wrong.

    maybe this story will go somewhere now that the NYT put it up. still not holding my breath, though.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Explosive: U.S. Congresswoman caught in wiretap discussing a ‘quid pro quo’ with Israeli agent « The Western Experience says:
    April 20, 2009 at 7:21 am

    […] Balloon Juice: “The whole thing makes me laugh: sleazy “liberal hawk” Congresswoman gets wiretapped and then blackmailed by an even sleazier Attorney General. It’s the perfect story for our times, in many ways.” […]

  2. Rep. Harmon Recorded Making Deal With Israeli Agents » Pirate’s Cove says:
    April 20, 2009 at 9:52 am

    […] course, many of the Usual Useful Idiots are questioning the timing, failing to understand the most basic way the NSA would gather intelligence, including monitoring the communications of a […]

  3. Rep. Harmon Recorded Making Deal With Israeli Agents : Stop The ACLU says:
    April 20, 2009 at 9:53 am

    […] course, many of the Usual Useful Idiots are questioning the timing, failing to understand the most basic way the NSA would gather intelligence, including monitoring the communications of a […]

  4. The Best Congress Israel Could Buy | Prose Before Hos says:
    April 20, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    […] Also: Who Listened To Harman? NSA Or FBI?, Caught In The AIPAC, Jane’s sedition?, This River Runs Deep, Unpacking The AIPAC Story, Jane Harman denies CQ report she was heard on NSA […]

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