So a few years ago, I voted for a Libertarian candidate instead of Jane Harman (D-CA) because of her support for the passages of the Patriot Act that allowed for warrant-less and secret searches of people's book purchases and library records. Now Jane Harman is outraged, OUTRAGED to find that she was secretly wire tapped. The problem is that the conversation that was recorded has her offering a quid-pro-quo with some AIPAC (Pro-Isreali lobby) guys in which she would intervene in some investigation of their being involved some espionage stuff in return for AIPACs support for her being named Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee (she did not get the job and the accused Israeli agents are up for trial soon).
So there are a number of things going on here. First, schadenfreude over seeing Jane Harman get victimized by exactly the kind of abuse of power she was supporting when I voted against her. Second, this may lead to clear evidence that the Bush administration was using wire taps to monitor political opponents (i.e. senior Democrats in Congress). Third, it appears that Jane Harman is corrupt. Assuming Jane Harman is still in office at the end of her term, I hope the Democratic party targets her for a strong primary challenge.
6 comments:
I am also disturbed that APIC had any say at all in who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. It's one thing for lobby groups to have an interest, another that one group would have so much influence as to have a coveted endorsement- especially for that post.
That, to me is really bothersome.
Wasn't Harman's wiretap legal? I think it went through FISA and everything.
I guarantee you all we will discover that the Kerry campaign was wiretapped. Cheney said over and over again that it would be a serious threat to our country if Kerry were elected.
He said the same thing about Obama, didn't he?
Who else had a wire tapped phones in Congress? Kennedy? Feinstein? Everyone?
It sounds so familiar, circa 1972 . . I keep saying "That 70's Show".
Jane Harman should resign if it is true she was going to sell her influence to any lobbyist like this. It's unseemly and disgraceful. I didn't understand why Nancy Pelosi was so resistant to her being the Chairman when seniority would have dictated it. Maybe she knew that Harman was bought and sold easily.
Word comes that the NSA did not wiretap Harman. That would leave the DOJ as the next likely suspect. If true, that's far worse for Harman.
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