Gephardt, not Pelosi, promised Harman chairmanship

[sabra]

Source: The Hill

Rep. Jane Harman was promised the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee, according to a letter obtained by The Hill. But the promise was made by former Democratic leader Dick Gephardt, not House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Hill obtained a copy of the letter Thursday as it has became a point of disagreement between Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Harman (D-Calif.) had said in a television interview Tuesday that she'd been promised the chairmanship in writing by "the leadership." It was meant as evidence that she didn't need to lobby or enlist help to get the job.

But Pelosi said Wednesday that was “completely not so."

The letter was written in 1999 to Harman after she had apparently decided to run again for the seat she had vacated in 1998 to run for governor. It is signed by Gephardt (Mo.), then Democratic Whip David Bonoir (D-Mich.) then conference chair Martin Frost (D-Texas) and Hoyer himself, who worked on chairmanship issues as chairman of the Democrats steering and policy committee.

Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gephardt-not-pelosi-promised-harman-chairmanship-2009-04-23.html

[cliffordu]

1. I can't figure out who's on first here.

Curiouser and curiouser.

And please, don't explain it to me. I'll wait for Rachel to do it.


:)

[polmaven]

2. Oh, but that can't be right!

How can we POSSIBLY rake Nancy Pelosi over the coals if it wasn't she who made the promise? How can we POSSIBLY have an "I told you so" fest, and complain about how bad Pelosi is? What fun would that be?

This CANNOT be right. Nancy Pelosi must have forged the letter!