Harman Asks DOJ to Release Wiretap Transcripts

[sabra]

Source: Roll Call

Hoping to clear her name in the wake of allegations that she made a deal with a suspected Israeli agent to advance her position in Congress, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) on Tuesday hit back by calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to release all materials related to possible wiretapped conversations between her and relevant lobbyists.

A news story in Congressional Quarterly on Sunday alleged that Harman tried to quash a federal spy case against two officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in return for help lobbying Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the gavel of the House Intelligence Committee.

But in a letter to Holder, Harman decried the “outrageous” abuse of power by the National Security Administration in wiretapping her conversations and called on the attorney general to release all transcripts of wiretapped conversations involving her.

“It is my intention to make this material available to the public,” Harman said.

Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/news/34130-1.html

[MADem]

1. Wow. That's a twist. NT

[sabra]

2. pass the popcorn

[tsuki]

4. Here

This is gonna be a good one.

[L. Coyote]

19. "It is a fitting irony that under Richard Nixon, launder became a dirty word." (William Zinsser)

Like a whole new chapter in the political history of irony!

[MADem]

13. You're not kidding.

I think I'll want a bathroom break before this show gets started...I don't want to miss a second of it.

The minute ya think ya "know"...it sometimes turns out that ya don't.

I don't know what to think, now...

[Joanne98]

3. I didn't see that one coming.

[aquart]

5. Exactly what she should do.

[Soylent Brice]

6. stinks of desperation. makes one wonder if the leaked version is bullshit.

K&R

[pacalo]

7. Yes! Investigate the wiretapping, by all means.

The California Democrat, who was passed over by Pelosi for the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee in 2006, also urged Holder to investigate possible wiretapping of other Members of Congress and "selective leaks of investigative material which can be used for political purposes."

[Howardx]

8. heres the actual letter

Washington, DC - Following below is a copy of a letter Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) sent to Attorney General Eric Holder today:

April 21, 2009

Dear General Holder:

I am outraged to learn from reports leaked to the media over the last several days that the FBI or NSA secretly wiretapped my conversations in 2005 or 2006 while I was Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee.

This abuse of power is outrageous and I call on your Department to release all transcripts and other investigative material involving me in an unredacted form. It is my intention to make this material available to the public.

I also urge you to take appropriate steps to investigate possible wiretapping of other Members of Congress and selective leaks of investigative material which can be used for political purposes. As you know, it is entirely appropriate to converse with advocacy organizations and constituent groups, and I am concerned about a chilling effect on other elected officials who may find themselves in my situation.

Let me be absolutely clear: I never contacted the Department of Justice, the White House or anyone else to seek favorable treatment regarding the national security cases on which I was briefed, or any other cases. You may be aware that David Szady, the FBI's former top counterintelligence official, is quoted in the media saying of me "...in all my dealings with her, she was always professional and never tried to intervene or get in the way of any investigation."

Sincerely,

JANE HARMAN


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/harma...

notice the attempt to cloud the issue, she was never the one being wiretapped. if everything was so above board why did she feel the need to say "this conversation doesnt exist"?

[shraby]

12. Have you heard the actual conversation that was

wiretapped? Do you know exactly where the info about the wiretap came from? Until that tap is released for public consumption, the whole thing is hearsay and inuendo.
Edited to add:
If an investigation is started as she suggests to look into evidence of wiretapping members of congress, this request is a huge plus.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sezu]

25. Are you accusing another member of being an AGENT ?n/t

[w4rma]

9. Hah! She doesn't support the secret wiretaps much anymore, does she!? lol. (nt)

[stillcool]

10. Good for her!

seems like someone is playing chicken.

[TacticalPeek]

11. Ask them to release wiretap transcripts of her 2004 pleas to NYT to kill warrantless wiretaps story.

That would have probably turned the election for Kerry, with whom she shares party affiliation and, presumably, loyalty.

The Plum LineGreg Sargent's blog

Dem Rep Harman Did Urge Times Not To Publish Wiretapping Expose!

Whoa. Dem Rep Jane Harman did in fact urge The New York Times not to publish its big expose of Bush-era warrantless wiretapping, apparently before the 2004 election, potentially changing the election’s outcome and the course of history, according to a statement from the paper.

As I noted here yesterday, one key revelation in that big CQ Politics scoop is that Harman may have privately tried to kill the story in 2004. Yesterday Times executive editor Bill Keller said that Harman hadn’t spoken to him or influenced his decision.

But now Times spokesperson Catherine Mathis sends over a more detailed statement from Keller explaining what really happened:

Congresswoman Harman spoke to Washington Bureau Chief Phil Taubman in late October or early November, 2004, apparently at the request of General Hayden. She urged that The Times not publish the story. She did not speak to me, and I don’t remember her being a significant factor in my decision. In 2005, when we were getting ready to publish, Phil met with a group of congressional leaders familiar with the eavesdropping program, including Ms. Harman. They all argued that The Times should not publish. The Times published the story a few days later.

So Harman did urge the paper’s Washington bureau chief not to publish. While the timing is slightly fuzzy, it seems fair to assume in light of the CQ story that it was in fact before the election.

http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/political-media/dem-r... /

[goforit]

15. LOL!!!..... Wiretapping played two ways. The treasonist Capital of Washington DC

[Spazito]

16. Hmmmm, her newfound "outrage" seems phony to me...

She knows full well the wiretap was on a suspected Israeli agent and was LEGAL. The reason she was picked up was because of her contact with the suspected Israeli agent. There was no wiretap on her. After she was picked up on the wiretap and the transcript of her conversation with the suspected agent was read, there was a request for an investigation and for a wiretap on her through FISA. That investigation and wiretap never happened, Gonzales stepped on it.

I note Ms. Harmon does NOT deny she had conversations with the suspected Israeli agent, she is only expressing outrage that such conversations were recorded. This is what she DID say about those conversations:

“As you know, it is entirely appropriate to converse with advocacy organizations and constituent groups, and I am concerned about a chilling effect on other elected officials who may find themselves in my situation,” said Harman.

[Sezu]

26. Well all they have to do is RELEASE the fucking thing so we

know the truth and if she was wronged she has a RIGHT to be outraged

[annabanana]

17. Believe me... Harmon's voice is not the most interesting thing

about these transcripts..

AIPAC's massive interference might get some exposure here..

[Mari333]

20. wouldnt that be nice!!! and overdue! nt

[Sezu]

27. Funny no one asks about the TIMING which I suspect was

a Bushies way of showing up Democratic complicity with enhanced interrogation once Obama et al released the memoes. And Democrats faithfully eat their own right on cue.

[robinlynne]

18. outrageous abuse of power? umm let's see. WHO damned the new york times and.

fought for this outrageous abuse of power??? oh yes. Jane Harman.

[harmonicon]

21. hypocrisy is so adorable!

Ok, I'm going to go puke now.

[Duer 157099]

22. Let's see: Franken and election fraud; Harman and wiretapping

Check! Karma is doing what it does. Almost instantaneously too, in the scheme of things.

Keep it going karma!

[dgibby]

23. Well, alrighty, then.

Let's see. She's asking the DOJ to release a wiretap by the NSA (No Such Agency) concerning an alleged spy. How's Holder going to release something he doesn't have? I don't think she has to worry about this being released anytime soon, as I'd be willing to bet it's classified info and she knows it. Hmmmm!

[Kablooie]

24. I just heard her on NPR. She sounded totally guilty.

She never answered if she remembered the conversation.
Just puffed out her chest and challenged them to produce the tapes.

She sounded a lot like Blagovitch.

She is guilty.