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Gonzales ‘blocked prosecution of Democrat who helped keep lid on wiretapping story’
John Byrne
Raw Story
Monday, April 20, 2009
A powerful California congresswoman who appeared poised to chair the House Intelligence Committee when the Democrats took back the House in 2006 was allegedly caught in an NSA wiretap pledging to intervene in an espionage case involving Israeli lobbyists, Congressional Quarterly’s Jeff Stein revealed Sunday.
Quoting former senior Bush Administration officials, the article also alleges that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales conspired to drop criminal action against the then-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Jane Harman (D-CA) because she’d helped persuade the New York Times from publishing details about the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program in 2004.
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.”
According to a purported NSA transcript of the call between Harman and a suspected Israeli agent — which the article says was tapped legally under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and not part of the warrantless wiretapping program itself — Harman “was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference.”
“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,” Stein added.
Harman allegedly hung up after saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”
Harman was not chosen to lead Intelligence. Instead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped Rep. Silvestre Reyes.
The AIPAC case involved two lobbyists — Keith Weissman and Steven Rosen — who were charged with trying to obtain classified reports on US policy and sharing them with reporters and foreign diplomats.
A Harman spokesman vehemently denied the allegations.
“These claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact,” Harman said in a statement to CQ. “I never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves.”
In 2006, Time revealed that the FBI was investigating Harman for supposedly trying to intervene in the AIPAC case. Later reports indicated, however, that the FBI had dropped the case for “lack of evidence.”
A source “with first-hand knowledge” of the taps told Stein the “no evidence” line was “bullshit.”
“I read those transcripts,” the source is quoted as saying.
The full CQ story is available here.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the current chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. It has been corrected.
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April 20th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
People this story is the Mecca and the ultimate proof of the full court press that Israel is laying on the United States. These guys are not only spying on us like there is no tomorrow but they are trying to Hi Jack our government. This story will not hit the MSM for they are ALL in bed with these fools. Great story and I hope many people get to see it. There really is a two party crime family in washington and this is proof right here.
T.R. Eddy Reply:
April 20th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
“Israel” hi-jacked this government a long time ago. The Zionists have had one of their people sitting and whispering in the ear of every President at least as far back as Wilson. His “control agent” wasw Col. Mandel House a cousin of the Rothschilds. Juat as the Kenyan now has Rahm Emmanuel whispering sweet nothings in his ear in the White House.
April 20th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Israel-first, dual-national, AIPAC:
extortion, blackmail, & bribery!
April 20th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
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April 20th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Jane always backs Israel and Mexico. She forgets that she is supposed to be representing American interests. She gets re-elected by idiots because of name recognition, not re-elected for her merits.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:48 pm
What a surprise! Tonight on Msnbc, Jewish televison news host David Shuster interviewed Jewish reporter Jeff Stein about Jewish Rep. Jane Harman’s involvement with the Jewish lobby and an alleged Jewish spy.