In today's WSJ. Political Diary
Jane's Intelligence Failure
In Harman's Way
News that a National Security Agency wiretap back in October, 2005 picked up a conversation in which a leading Democratic congresswoman appeared to agree to seek lenient treatment for two pro-Israeli lobbyists being probed for espionage activity has Washington buzzing.
Rep. Jane Harman of California was the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee from 2003 through 2007. During that time she had great ambitions to become chairman of the committee if Democrats took back control of the House. But she and Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi had long been rivals in California politics, and she eventually was dumped from the committee altogether when Democrats took over after the 2006 elections.
But in 2005, Ms. Harman was a queen bee of U.S. intelligence, which is why NSA officials were startled by her phone conversation with a suspected Israeli agent seeking help for two employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who were under investigation by the Justice Department as potential spies. Transcripts of the call reviewed by officials interviewed by Congressional Quarterly and the New York Times indicate that Ms. Harman said she would have more influence with an unnamed White House official than with Justice. She told her caller that she would "waddle into" the AIPAC case "if you think it'll make a difference." In exchange for Ms. Harman's help, the suspected Israeli contact allegedly pledged to help lobby Ms. Pelosi to appoint Ms. Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee. Ms. Harman clearly sensed the sensitivity of the call because she ended it with these words: "This conversation doesn't exist."
No one knows if Ms. Harman acted on her statements offering to help. If she did, they didn't work. The Justice Department continued its probe and charged AIPAC officials Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman with trafficking in classified information. They go on trial in a few weeks.
Longstanding guidelines at the time called for any intelligence concerns involving a member of Congress to be reported to then-GOP House Speaker Denny Hastert and then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. It may well be that Ms. Pelosi needed no excuse to exercise her discretion in blocking Ms. Harman's ambitions to chair the Intelligence Committee. Ms. Harman issued a statement yesterday in which she said: "These claims are an outrageous and recycled canard, and have no basis in fact. I never engaged in any such activity. Those who are peddling these false accusations should be ashamed of themselves."
Does the story go anywhere from here? The left-wing blogosphere will spin claims that Ms. Harman provided key support for the Bush Administration's warrantless wiretapping program in exchange for not pursuing her. I doubt that's the case given Ms. Harman's longstanding support of U.S. intelligence programs in the wake of 9/11. Many journalists will be hot to know the identity of the White House official that Ms. Harman is alleged to have had clout with, but that's likely a dead end.
As for any kind of official investigation of Ms. Harman, it's unlikely to occur four years after the alleged incident. Jeff Stein, the Congressional Quarterly reporter who broke the story, says he doubts there will be any probe. "Last time I checked, the White House and Congress were in the hands of the Democrats," he writes. He also notes that Republicans may not be eager to make too much of the scandal given the controversial role Bush administration officials such as former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez played in the warrantless wiretap debate.
Despite her denials, Ms. Harman's reputation will suffer some damage and she may have to worry about a primary challenge come 2010. As for Republicans taking political advantage of the situation, it's unlikely any GOPer could gain traction against her in a district that Barack Obama carried with some 70% of the vote.
-- John Fund
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Sadly toooo few truly understood the gravity of those words.