Jane Harmon...need help here.

[nonews]

I have seen her a couple of times on the TV and she appears to be very qualified fot the Intelligence Committee. Did I miss something?

[leveymg]

1. That's pretty transparent bait, my friend.

Read the TIME article. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1549069,00.html

Exclusive: Feds Probe a Top Democrat's Relationship with AIPAC

The Department of Justice is investigating whether Rep. Jane Harman and the pro-Israel group worked together to get her reappointed as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee
By TIMOTHY J. BURGER/WASHINGTON
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHORBackground: A Web of Intrigue

Posted Friday, Oct. 20, 2006
Did a Democratic member of Congress improperly enlist the support of a major pro-Israel lobbying group to try to win a top committee assignment? That's the question at the heart of an ongoing investigation by the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors, who are examining whether Rep. Jane Harman of California and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) may have violated the law in a scheme to get Harman reappointed as the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, according to knowledgeable sources in and out of the U.S. government.

The sources tell TIME that the investigation by Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has simmered out of sight since about the middle of last year, is examining whether Harman and AIPAC arranged for wealthy supporters to lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Harman's behalf. Harman said Thursday in a voicemail message that any investigation of — or allegation of improper conduct by — her would be "irresponsible, laughable and scurrilous." On Friday, Washington GOP super lawyer Ted Olson left voicemail messages underscoring that Harman has no knowledge of any investigation. "Congresswoman Harman has asked me to follow up on calls you've had," Olson said. "She is not aware of any such investigation, does not believe that it is occurring, and wanted to make sure that you and your editors knew that as far as she knows, that's not true... . No one from the Justice Department has contacted her." It is not, however, a given that Harman would know that she is under investigation. In a follow-up phone call from California, Olson said Harman hired him this morning because she takes seriously the possibility of a media report about an investigation of her, even though she does not believe it herself.

A spokesman for AIPAC, a powerful Washington-based organization with more than 100,000 members across the U.S., denied any wrongdoing by the group and stressed that it is not taking sides in regards to the committee assignment.

[oasis]

3. Harman hires Ted Olson. That says it all.

:wow:

[leveymg]

4. Plato Cacheris next?

:evilgrin:

[acmejack]

2. Yes, you did.

Democratic Aide's Access to Intelligence Is Cut Off
A House panel's GOP chairman cites the leak of an Iraq analysis. Foes call it partisan reprisal.
By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
October 21, 2006

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has suspended a Democratic aide's access to classified materials, citing concerns the staffer might have leaked parts of an intelligence assessment on terrorism to the media.

The highly unusual move drew sharp protest from the panel's ranking Democrat, Jane Harman of Venice, who said in a statement Friday, "There is no evidence to suggest that the professional staff member in question did anything wrong."

With an election in less than three weeks that could swing control of Congress, the exchange reflects a major deterioration in relations on a committee that traditionally has sought to avoid partisan clashes. One congressional official said the committee was in "meltdown."

Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said he suspended the aide's access to secret intelligence documents after learning that the employee had requested a copy of a high-level intelligence estimate days before details of the document showed up in the press.tics : National Print E-mail story Most e-mailed Change text size

Democratic Aide's Access to Intelligence Is Cut Off
A House panel's GOP chairman cites the leak of an Iraq analysis. Foes call it partisan reprisal.
By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
October 21, 2006

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee has suspended a Democratic aide's access to classified materials, citing concerns the staffer might have leaked parts of an intelligence assessment on terrorism to the media.

The highly unusual move drew sharp protest from the panel's ranking Democrat, Jane Harman of Venice, who said in a statement Friday, "There is no evidence to suggest that the professional staff member in question did anything wrong."

With an election in less than three weeks that could swing control of Congress, the exchange reflects a major deterioration in relations on a committee that traditionally has sought to avoid partisan clashes. One congressional official said the committee was in "meltdown."

Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said he suspended the aide's access to secret intelligence documents after learning that the employee had requested a copy of a high-level intelligence estimate days before details of the document showed up in the press.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-intel21oct21,1,1914658.story?coll=la-news-politics-national

Hoekstra suspends staff member for possible leak

Democrats say the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee had no grounds to suspend a staff member who’s come under scrutiny for the leak of a secret intelligence assessment.

The unidentified staff member, a Democrat, was suspended this week by Chairman Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., and is being denied access to classified information pending the outcome of a review, Hoekstra’s spokesman, Jamal Ware, said Thursday.

The Intelligence Committee’s top Democrat, Jane Harman of California, wrote to Hoekstra that she was “appalled” by his action, which was “without basis

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061020/NEWS99/61020017

The Lobby, Unmasked
The AIPAC spy scandal has many tentacles

While it may be in questionable taste to celebrate at this time of national disaster, with Iraq falling to pieces and the security of the United States compromised as never before, one can't help but savor this delicious moment as the neoconservatives fall from their formerly dizzying heights. Here's Matthew Parris, in the London Times, sounding the call to gloat:

"Hark – can you hear it? Borne on the wind, can you hear the sounds of construction – of hammers hammering and woodsaws sawing? And do you detect a note of panic? I do. The good ship Neocon is going down. She has struck the Iraqi rocks, the engine room is awash, and on the deck in anxious pursuit of something to float them away is a curious assembly."

The "good" ship Neocon is a pirate vessel, one that brazenly hoists the Jolly Roger and takes no prisoners: it patrols the sea-lanes in search of victims and, when it finds them, pounces without mercy or hesitation. Up until now, it has evaded all attempts to corner and sink it, and its success is due, in no small part, to its many allies and well-wishers onshore. Yet for those of us who see this crew as a prime candidate for sinking, the neocons' comeuppance on account of the collapse of the Iraq campaign is hardly enough. Their disgrace, properly conceived, has barely begun.

http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=9904