Harman Wiretap Highlights Suspicions: Intel Concerns of Dual Loyalty ‘Rooted Deep in the System’

[Purveyor]

By Nathan Guttman

Washington — Leaks of wiretap transcripts involving a member of Congress and a “suspected Israeli agent” have shone a rare light on the scope of suspicion the American intelligence establishment harbors toward Israel and its supporters.

Investigators wiretapping the alleged Israeli agent were so concerned about remarks by Democratic Rep. Jane Harman of California during his conversation with her that the investigators subsequently sought a so-called FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant — reserved for sensitive intelligence cases — to wiretap Harman, as well, according to a detailed story published April 19 by Congressional Quarterly. But then-attorney general Alberto Gonzales, the article claims, halted the investigation because he thought he would need Harman’s support in an upcoming clash over the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, about to be exposed by The New York Times.

According to the CQ story, Harman allegedly promised the Israeli agent to back off espionage-related charges against two former officials of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Washington pro-Israel lobby. In exchange, her conversation partner is said to have promised he would lobby congressional leaders for Harman to become chairwoman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Harman has angrily denied that she made any such deal, and requested the administration to fully declassify the wiretapped conversations in question. Gonzales, meanwhile, has declined to comment so far.

But for close observers of the national security establishment, the real news was the extent of its suspicions of American Jewish supporters of Israel — up to and including its willingness to wiretap a member of Congress.

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THE FORWARD: http://tinyurl.com/cxocy2

[Buzz Clik]

1. Harman needs to quit worrying about the Israel implications and starting bitching about the wiretap.

But for close observers of the national security establishment, the real news was the extent of its suspicions of American Jewish supporters of Israel — up to and including its willingness to wiretap a member of Congress.

No, the real news is that this makes it clear that everyone is subject to wiretaps. Everyone.

[Captain Hilts]

3. She waived a right to privacy as a member of the house intel. cmte. Everybody with

a high clearance does.

Same goes for her.

[Buzz Clik]

5. Really? Gawd. What some people will do to acquire power.

[Captain Hilts]

8. It's part of the responsibility of having a high security clearance. It's pretty common.

Not a big deal really.

[Buzz Clik]

9. It's not a big deal if you're willing to pay the price. And she's paying the price.

[Captain Hilts]

10. That's exactly right.

They weren't after her, but she waived that right and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So, if she's looking for 'sympathy', she'll find it between 'shit' and 'syphilis' in the dictionary.

[leveymg]

11. Where did you hear that anyone with a TS clearance can be wiretapped?

Interesting, never heard of that.

[Captain Hilts]

2. Did Perle, Feith, Wolfowitz, etc. get their conversations tapped? nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. I expect probably so -

criminals never trust each other, and nothing shakes up a henchman so much as the boss whispering "I know it was you, Fredo".

[DCKit]

6. Great. How long until they try to squelch any investigation with cries of anti-Israeli....

sentiment, even anti-Semitism? They've got no rational defense.

[cascadiance]

7. Anyone feel like we're seeing a mafia-style family war breaking out?...

Between different mob families with various different agendas that are all infecting our government in different ways?

We press a few buttons, like forcing the release of the torture memos, and then we force some of them to get desperate and take others down to keep the big eye in the sky from focusing on them.

I think what is sad is that is that there doesn't really to appear to be many innocent parties here worth defending. Whether it is Harman's ties to AIPAC, and working with Gonzalez and Bushco to tear down our protections of privacy with domestic spying, or Porter Goss and others that want to try to defend their involvement with torture and other breakages of law, it is very hard to know where to focus one's efforts to make sure that ALL of the bad apples are forced out into the open, and not take sides of one bad apple vs. the other, but make sure that they all go down and that we have some newer folks that we can put in, hopefully with some reasonable experience to set things right in a time which might be tumultuous while we have to rebuild such a cancer-ridden government that we have in place now that has been sick for so many years!