harman, wiretaps, doj & aipac: more massive corruption

major scandal erupts involving congress, cabinet & corruption

download greenwald & stein interview [10.5mb mp3]
wiretap recorded rep harman promising to intervene for aipac
from cqpolitics: Rep. Jane Harman, the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington. Harman was recorded saying she would "waddle into" the AIPAC case "if you think it'll make a difference," according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript... The identity of the "suspected Israeli agent" could not be determined with certainty, and officials were extremely skittish about going beyond Harman's involvement to discuss other aspects of the NSA eavesdropping operation against Israeli targets, which remain highly classified. But according to the former officials familiar with the transcripts, the alleged Israeli agent asked Harman if she could use any influence she had with Gonzales, who became attorney general in 2005, to get the charges against the AIPAC officials reduced to lesser felonies. Rosen had been charged with two counts of conspiring to communicate, and communicating national defense information to people not entitled to receive it. Weissman was charged with conspiracy... "It's a story about the corruption of government - not legal corruption necessarily, but ethical corruption." Ironically, however, nothing much was gained by it. The Justice Department did not back away from charging AIPAC officials Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman for trafficking in classified information. Gonzales was engulfed by the NSA warrantless wiretapping scandal. And Jane Harman was relegated to chairing a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

flashback: harman conflates 9/11 truth & jihadist websites

video: 'wide circle' of people knew about harman wiretap

harman caught on tape agreeing to lobby for alleged aipac spies
from jeremy scahill: This is a huge story... The case, known as the AIPAC espionage scandal centers around allegations that at least two AIPAC staff members passed sensitive US intelligence on Iran, provided by Pentagon official Lawrence Franklin, to Israel. In early 2006, Franklin pled guilty to espionage-related charges and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The case against two indicted AIPAC staffers, Steve Rosen and Keith Weissman, is ongoing. Allegations that Harman intervened in this case in an effort to win the spot as chair of the Intelligence Committee have been widespread since 2006, but an FBI investigation into Harman was dropped for “lack of evidence.”

flashback: israel might have many more spies here

harman & aipac: more evidence of massive government corruption
from kurt nimmo: It really comes as no surprise Rep. Jane Harman was caught on a federal wiretap offering to lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against AIPAC officials. Much of Congress is beholden to the Israeli pressure group. Instead of taking note of this common practice — politicians coming to the rescue of their favored constituents at the expensive of those they were elected to represent — we should take note of the willingness of the NSA and FBI to make this information public. Somebody wanted Jane Harman out of the picture. The case is yet another example of how politics works in the District of Criminals. In exchange for help in getting espionage-related charges reduced against two AIPAC officials, a suspected Israeli agent pledged to lobby Nancy Pelosi, then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, according to CQ Politics. More specifically, the Los Angeles Times reveals, the caller told Harman Haim Saban would threaten to withhold campaign contributions from Pelosi unless Harman became committee chairwoman... “I’m a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel,” Saban told Forbes in 2003. Harman’s office told the Associated Press she “never contacted the Justice Department about its prosecution of present or former AIPAC employees, and the Justice Department never informed her that she was or is the subject of or involved in an investigation.” In a statement, Harman attempted to change the subject. “If there is anything about this story that should arouse concern it is that the Bush administration may have been engaged in electronic surveillance of members of the congressional intelligence committees.” Harman didn’t bother to mention the fact she had leaned on the New York Times in order to get the newspaper to hold off on publishing an article on the unconstitutional NSA wiretap program. “Harman is a poster child for what has been wrong with Congress for the last 8 years,” writes George Washington’s Blog. She needs to be brought up on ethics and bribery charges immediately and drummed out of Congress. If the AIPAC operatives are convicted, treason charges against Harman should not be ruled out.

flashback: declassified docs shed new light on aipac espionage

update1: pelosi: 'i don't respond to threats... bring it on!'

video update: harman wiretap story is real life spy thriller
from raw replay: CQPolitics.com reported that Rep. Jane Harman was caught on NSA wiretaps offering to intervene in the case of an accused spy. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow explains how the case compares to classic movie plotlines. This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Apr. 21, 2009.

cheneyacs, pnac2, the controlled opposition & yoo

...both wings of this phony bird are ratcheting up the rhetoric, but let's not get too distracted by the false left/right paradigm...

hersh: cheney left 'stay-behind units’ in obama govt

hersh: cheney has moles in obama govt
from raw replay: Investigative report Sy Hersh talks about his interview with Dick Cheney in which the former vice president continued to make anti-Obama comments.

introducing pnac 2.0: 'foreign policy initiative'

pnac members start new neocon group
from raw replay: The Neocons are back. The same Republicans who sold the country on the war in Iraq have formed a new group called the Foreign Policy Initiative, and declaring their last group as “mission accomplished.” Rachel Maddow is joined by thinkprogress.org’s Matt Duss. This video is from MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Mar. 31, 2009.

bush officials facing war crimes charges

john yoo arrested? wishful april foolin'
from infowars: A number of websites are carrying a story claiming that John Yoo, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States, was arrested in Milan, Italy, and is being held “for possible extradition to Spain, where he and five other retired officials who served under former President George W. Bush are expected to be indicted by a Spanish court for violations of the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

bilderbergers to meet in greece on may14

spanish court weighs inquiry on torture for 6 bush-era officials
from nytimes: A Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation into allegations that six former high-level Bush administration officials violated international law by providing the legal framework to justify the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an official close to the case said. The case, against former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and others, was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review by Baltasar Garzón, the crusading investigative judge who ordered the arrest of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The official said that it was “highly probable” that the case would go forward and that it could lead to arrest warrants.

palin adviser's 'secret scientology plot' outed &
contrary to palin advisor, scientology pac's exist

update: surprise! leahy suggests 'truth commission' may not happen
from thinkprogress: In a meeting on Monday with Vermont citizens, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) admitted that the truth commission he has advocated to examine Bush administration crimes like torture most likely won’t happen. Reporter Charlotte Dennett writes that Leahy said political opposition was too strong to overcome.

cheney & gonzales indictment moves forward in south texas

from ap: A Texas judge has set an arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other officials accused of involvement in prisoner abuse. Presiding Judge Manuel Banales (buh-NAHL'-ehs) said Wednesday he will allow them to waive arraignment or have attorneys present rather than appear in person Friday. Banales also said he would issue summonses, not warrants. That allows them to avoid arrest and the need to post bond. Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra (GEHR'-uh) accuses Cheney, Gonzales, a state senator and others of involvement in prisoner abuse at a federal detention center in south Texas. Defense attorney Tony Canales (kuh-NAHL'-ehs) accuses Guerra of "prosecutorial vindictiveness" and not following procedure.

update: surprise! cheney & gonzales indictments dropped
from raw story: A judge in Raymondville, Texas has dropped indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Judge Manuel Banales, after surviving a motion to have him removed from the case, threw out eight of the indictments brought by Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra, including those against two special prosecutors, two district judges, and a district clerk. Judge Banales ruled the grand jury returned the indictments against Cheney and Gonzales unlawfully. Banales also tossed an indictment for corruption against State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., a Democrat. Charges were brought against Vice President Cheney and former AG Gonzales for blocking the investigation into a prisoner's murder in a private prison in Raymondville.

gonzales mishandled 18 classified docs on his 1st day

from washington times: The Justice Department's internal watchdog said Tuesday that former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales had only been on the job a few hours the first time he mishandled highly classified documents.

All told, a report from Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine concluded, Mr. Gonzales failed to properly secure 18 top-secret documents related to National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance and detainee-interrogation programs.

The report is the latest in a series from Mr. Fine's office that have been highly critical of Mr. Gonzales and the Justice Department under his leadership. Mr. Gonzales resigned in 2007 after two tumultuous years at his post. But whereas previous reports found concerted efforts by staff to fill department ranks with conservatives or Republicans, the latest report suggests carelessness.

The report concluded that Mr. Gonzales brought home notes that included classified information from a meeting about the NSA surveillance program. It also found that he improperly kept 17 other classified documents in a safe outside his office at the Justice Department that at least five staff members without appropriate clearances could access.

The Inspector General concluded that the violations were serious enough to refer the case to the Justice Department's National Security Division (NSD) for possible criminal prosecution.

"After conducting a thorough review of the matter and consulting with senior career officials inside and outside of the division," said Justice spokesman Dean Boyd, "the NSD ultimately determined that prosecution should be declined."

alberto 'torture' gonzales resigns

from raw story: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation Monday, ending months of calls that he would step down from the Justice Department over his role in the dismissal of federal prosecutors and role in expanding the power to spy on Americans.

In a news conference Monday morning, Gonzales did not address the reasons for his resignation, and he refused to answer reporters' shouted questions.

"Even my worst days at Attorney General have been better than my father's best days," said Gonzales, whose parents immigrated to Texas from Mexico before he was born.

Gonzales told President Bush of the resignation Friday and met with the president at his Crawford, Texas, ranch over the weekend, according to the New York Times, which first reported Gonzales's resignation Monday.

Gonzales will leave office Sept. 17, he said...

Former Sen. John Edwards was the first Democratic presidential candidate to weigh in on the news of Gonzales' resignation, which broke early Monday morning.

"Better late than never," Edwards said in a prepared statement released by his campaign.

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gonzales: 'focused on protecting our kids'

'protecting our kids'? ... that's what mark foley said

from thinkprogress: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced this morning: “I’m not going to resign. I’m going to stay focused on protecting our kids.” Speaking before a Project Safe Childhood event, Gonzales told reporters he plans “to go up to the Congress and provide further clarification” about the U.S. Attorney purge, and claimed that his department has been “tremendous in the area of public corruption.”

Gonzales’ declaration that he intends to stay “focused on protecting our kids” comes as he launches a cross-country PR tour to save his job:

“CBS News has learned Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will take to the road to fight for his job, spending the next week traveling the country to see as many US Attorneys as he can. One source says he’ll apologize not for firing eight of their colleagues but for the way he handled it. [Gonzales] will start his mea culpa tour tomorrow in St. Louis.” [CBS Evening News, 3/21/07]

“A day after Bush gave his attorney general a vote of confidence, Gonzales appeared to be launching a campaign to save his job by repairing relations with prosecutors in the field and reaching out to political supporters. His office released a dozen testimonials from Latinos and law enforcement groups, with many saying that Gonzales, the first Latino attorney general, was being unfairly held accountable for the fiasco.” [LA Times, 3/22/07]

“Embattled Attorney General met this afternoon with several Republican Senators, including Orrin Hatch, Jon Kyl, John Cornyn and Jeff Sessions, GOP sources said. The lunch meeting held at the Department of Justice, sources said, was initiated by Gonzales. A source familiar with the meeting says it was an attempt by Gonzales to reach out to Republicans who have been decidedly unhappy with how he has handled the US Attorney mess.” [ABC, 3/21/07]

white house may be turning on gonzales

from raw story: Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says that he won't resign, but his fate is out of his hands, a New York Times article reveals.

Gonzales acknowledged that "mistakes were made" in his handling of the dismissal of several U.S. Attorneys, a case that has put the nation's chief law enforcement officer in the hot seat.

The Times article reveals that Republicans close to the Bush administration perceive "a growing rift between the White House and the attorney general," Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Jeff Zeleny write.

"Mr. Gonzales has long been a confidant of the president but has aroused the ire of lawmakers of both parties on several issues, including the administration's domestic eavesdropping program," Stolberg and Zeleny continue.

The anonymous Republicans referenced in the article "said top aides to Mr. Bush, including Fred F. Fielding, the new White House counsel, were concerned that the controversy had so damaged Mr. Gonzales's credibility that he would be unable to advance the White House agenda on national security matters," which includes the prosecution of terror suspects.

"I really think there's a serious estrangement between the White House and Alberto now," Stolberg and Zeleny quote one of the Republicans.

Gonzales himself seemed to acknowledge this himself, saying today that it's up to the President as to whether he retains his position.

"I work for the American people and serve at the pleasure of the president," Merrill Hartson quotes Gonzales for The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, former First Lady and likely 2008 presidential contender Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) today called for Gonzales to resign. Video [here].

fbi misused patriot act powers

from ap/yahoo: The FBI improperly and, in some cases, illegally used the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information about people in the United States, a Justice Department audit concluded Friday.

And for three years the FBI underreported to Congress how often it forced businesses to turn over the customer data, the audit found.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who oversees the FBI, described the problems cited in the report as unacceptable and left open the possibility of criminal charges. He ordered further investigation.

"Once we get that information, we'll be in a better position to assess what kinds of steps should be taken," Gonzales told reporters following a speech to privacy officials.

"There is no excuse for the mistakes that have been made, and we are going to make things right as quickly as possible," the attorney general said.

FBI Director Robert Mueller said he was to blame for not putting more safeguards into place.

"I am to be held accountable," Mueller said. He told reporters he would correct the problems and did not plan to resign.

attorney general promises to detail spying program

from npr: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tells Congress that he will hand over some legal documents describing the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program. The pledge ends a two-week standoff between Congress and the White House.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the senior members on the panel, asked for more details about documents including a secret court's decision to approve the program — a decision that Gonzales announced two weeks ago...

Privacy advocates hope that the documents can begin to answer some of the questions that they've had. The one most often brought up: Did the court grant blanket authorization for the wiretapping program as a whole, or did it grant permission to wiretap specific individuals?

pentagon & cia involved in domestic spying

from wired: Just a day before the nation celebrated the life of the once-federally-spied-upon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the New York Times reported that both the Pentagon and the CIA have been issuing subpoenas to domestic financial institutions to investigate possible terrorism. Although the military and the CIA are largely barred from spying on Americans, the Pentagon has stepped up its surveillance of American citizens after September 11 as part of what it calls "force protection" - that is, the protection of military installations on American soil.

Now, Eric Lichtblau and Mark Mazzetti reveal that both agencies have been using "National Security Letters" - which are self-issued subpoenas for documents. These subpoenas are widely used by the FBI since they do not require a judge's approval. In 2005, the first year the Justice Department was required to report how often they used this power, the DOJ said it issued 9,254 such letters to get information on 3,501 U.S. citizens and green card holders.

Unlike the FBI's version, the military and CIAs' are voluntary. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Patrick Ryder said the letters "provide tremendous leads to follow and often with which to corroborate other evidence in the context of counterespionage and counterterrorism," according to the New York Times. Vice President Dick Cheney defended the use of the power in an interview Sunday, saying the letters don't violate civil rights since banks could contest them in court.

The Pentagon said it intended to keep the records it gained from the letters and feed the information into a database run by the Counterintelligence Field Office. That office houses a database called TALON that included records on peaceful anti-war protesters. The Pentagon also, in the name of base protection, funded a data-mining study examined ways to study travel database records and commercial data to identify potential travelers. That study used commercial data provided by Acxiom paired with the entirety of JetBlue's travel database, which the company secretly handed over in September 2002 to the government in violation of its privacy promises.

While the Pentagon has reportedly issued only a relatively small number of such letters - approximately 500 or so -, civil libertarians say the military has no place investigating American citizens on American soil. House Intelligence chair Silvestre Reyes said he plans to hold hearings, and I expect the topic to get attention even in Thursday's Senate Judiciary committee's planned grilling of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.