Jane Harman, Coloratura Star
By John Batchelor on April 22, 2009 at 7:20 PM in House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Intelligence, Jane Harman, National Security, Obama Administration
Jane Harman hits back with a sweeping, supple victim’s style in a star-turn appearance with Andrea Mitchell re the surprise smear of the California potentate as a Zionist tool.
Shrewdly, Jane Harman’s counter strike on TV is not about the dull facts of the Bush administration case against AIPAC ops, which is likely to be dropped by Obama Justice.
Instead the counter strike is about the NSA spying on a member of Congress. Andrea Mitchell frames the story immediately – “Are private Congressional phone calls being eavesdropped on by other government agencies?” – and what Jane Harman must then do is act surprised, disappointed, alarmed, inquiring, patriotic, doubtful, resilient, responsible, comprehensive, curious and patient.
This is a hypnotic coloratura soprano victim performance. “I know what I read in the press, Andrea, the first time I had any clue…” Every note precise and thrilling. As for the mute NSA, it spies on all members of Congress when it must, when the key words come up on the recordings.
What is startling is that the NSA provided the transcript to Justice, and then Justice decided not to go ahead on the case, and then someone decided to leak the transcript.
Suspects of leakers? Obama Justice is suspect No. 1. Outgoing Bush politicos are also suspect, since they pursued AIPAC and lost, and this is a stink bomb tossed back inside the building. Also suspect — let us be nimble — is Jane Harman and/or AIPAC. Again, Jane Harman, bravissima!
(Release: November 13)
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NOW…NOW… She is worried about it being a gross misuse of power. Well welcome to the Obama power control.I love to watch them waddle in their own shit.
And waddle in it she is Harp! But I suspect that the AG will NOT release the tapes/transcripts thereby saving face for Harmon and allow her to continue her faux rage at being “Tapped.”
But she’s a Democrat. Don’t they all get free rides?
Is there even one member of Congress with clean hands?
Did I miss something here?
It’s okay for the powers that be to “wiretap” ordinary citizens like the Granny social club for peace and such but damn you all to hell if you “Tap” a member of Congress’ phone?
The hypocrisy of these people is astounding. What makes it all the worse is that you hear not a peep from the “Daily Kooks” and ” TPM, The Toilet Paper” boys!
Not one freakin word!
Sheep…..frakin Sheep!
Great point, RedDragon. However, I’ve always wondered what those “Grannys” are up to!
To be exact, the whole transcript? I just now commented on another thread about the paucity of actual words spoken by Harmon. The stories, the ones I read, had suggestions by the leaker how we should think about Harmon’s communication, but very few of her actual words, unlike the Blago leaks. One word she used that was leaked was “waddle”, how she would supposedly get involved, which didn’t sound ominous. Indeed, I don’t think the leaker leaked more than two consecutive words spoken by Harmon -”waddle into.” The leak was very shaped.
“Outgoing Bush politicos are also suspect, since they pursued AIPAC and lost, and this is a stink bomb tossed back inside the building.”
Plausible. That’s the latest story, the case is legally weak. More, there is a chance for the Defense to argue selective prosecution. If the Court gives them that one, that is a big black eye to the govt, nearly a finding of prosecutorial conduct. Good reason to prepare the discussion with disinformation distracting from one’s own failings. How do prosecutors usually do it? Something like, “He got off on a technicality” or “The lab screwed up” or “The cops muddied the scene” or this time “Powerful Jewish forces behind the scenes made us lose the case.”
The whole case was tenuous because the perps told a reporter too, not just a foreign agent. So why wasn’t the reporter charged too with being a recipient, or why if the reporter wrote about it and the foreign agent learned it that way, the perps would be absolved, which is a correct reading of the law given the prosecutors’ implicit theory.
But, maybe I’ll change my mind if the whole transcripts were released.
Just to be clear, personally, I really want to see this trial go through. It will be entertaining. Witness after witness talking about how leaks much more ominous are made every day. The legal arguments why leaking to employed reporters is OK, but the act of leaking to a non-reporter is a crime. How the repeating of the leak by the non-reporter to a reporter with intent to publicize is not a crime, but the same leak additionally made to a foreign agent is. What’s the standard, if one the leak to the agent came first, guilty!, but if the leak to the reporter was first, not guilty?
Gee…. This is a surprise.
Spy Flap: Pelosi Knew of NSA Spying on Lawmaker:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/roodfromdc/2009/04/spy-flap-pelosi.html
Wow!
Plastic Pelosi knew all along. What i wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall when these two meet to “Discuss” this new revelation! LMAO!
I don’t think it’s a stretch to think this may all be for show anyway. I’ll bet that Pelosi or someone connected tipped off Harmann that shw was under investigation so that she wouldn’t furthur incriminate herself.
I fact I wouldn’t doubt that the democratics have a lot of dirt being held over their heads.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to think this may all be for show anyway. I’ll bet that Pelosi or someone connected tipped off Harmann that she was under investigation so that she wouldn’t furthur incriminate herself.
In fact I wouldn’t doubt that the democratics have a lot of dirt being held over their heads.
If Obama Justice is likely to drop the case against AIPAC, leaking the transcript would be the perfect deflection to call lefty group attention away.
Notice Harmon calls on AG Holder (Obama Justice) to “release all tapes” of all calls. (Nice move!)
Also recall the Pelosi-Harmon dustup from 2006 when Harmon was not reappointed to intelligence committee head.
Little did Obama Justice realize Harmon is no rookie. Bravissima indeed!
Money has to exchanged hands for an actual vote and Harmon was a whistleblower.
The reason the GOP will drop this soon?
The House might get around to calling John Israel to testify. The guy who went on dates with Abu Gharib grown men and a broomstick, the Israeli national contractor involved in direct interrogations.
Israel wanted to make itself part of the story, sometimes you don’t want to get what you wished for….