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Title: Report: (former CIA director) Goss asked for tap on Rep. Harman
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://jta.org/news/article/2009/04 ... an-aipac-allegations-resurface
Published: Apr 19, 2009
Author: JTA
Post Date: 2009-04-20 08:47:06 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 56
Comments: 2

Report: Goss asked for tap on Harman

April 19, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A former CIA director asked for a wiretap on a Jewish congresswoman after she allegedly agreed to intervene on behalf of two indicted former AIPAC staffers.

CQ Politics, a division of Congressional Quarterly, reported Sunday that then-CIA chief Porter Goss agreed to request a wiretap on U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) after she agreed to “waddle into” the classified information leaks case against Steve Rosen, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s former foreign policy chief, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst.

Harman allegedly was speaking with an “Israeli agent;” the alleged quid pro quo was that the agent would lobby on Harman’s behalf in her quest to become chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.

According to the CQ story, Alberto Gonzales, the then- U.S. attorney general, shut down the case because Harman was useful in lobbying on behalf of the administration’s quest for expanded eavesdropping powers.

The events allegedly took place in the summer or fall of 2005. CQ quoted Harman as denying the allegations

Similar reports surfaced in October 2006, just prior to the midterm elections. Those reports named the Israeli "agent" as Haim Saban, the Israeli-American entertainment magnate who is a major donor to the Democratic Party and to AIPAC.

The CQ report, which cites former national security officials, includes direct quotes from the transcript of Harman’s alleged conversation with the Israeli agent.

Poster Comment:

The buying of the Presidency - Haim Saban

Haim Saban

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Haim Saban is an Israeli-American media-mogul, one of the biggest contributors to the campaigns of pro-Israel politicans in the U.S. and has been described by a New York Times reporter as a "tireless cheerleader for Israel." He has also founded various centers and institutions to produce policy research favorable to Israel. He is a financial donor and founder of the Saban Institute for the Study of the American Political System at the University of Tel Aviv. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Brookings Institution. In 2002 he pledged $13 million to found the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution."[1]

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#1. To: All (#0)

Remember Os, Haim Saban has been identified as an Israeli agent. Good luck with your CHANGE.

Ninja turtle mogul Saban rallies around Obama. Can Democratic nominee woo rest of wavering Jewish Democrats?

Article from:
Jerusalem Post
Article date:
August 31, 2008
Author:
document.writeln ('CALEV BEN-DAVID');document.getElementById ('ctl00_ph_ctl00_ArticleMain_AuthorLinks_ctl01_lnkAuthor').title='CALEV BEN- DAVID'
More results for:
Haim Saban and obama


Jerusalem Post

08-31-2008

Headline: Ninja turtle mogul Saban rallies around Obama. Can Democratic nominee woo rest of wavering Jewish Democrats?
Byline: CALEV BEN-DAVID
Edition; Daily
Section: News
Page: 02

Sunday, August 31, 2008 -- Barack Obama went to Denver last week to reassure mainstream America voters that, despite his "funny-sounding name," he's a regular guy just like them.

A small but key component of that group is those Jewish Democrats with particular reason to need that reassurance.

Despite their party ties and approval of Obama's liberal domestic policies, they remain nervous over Obama's links to radical African- American circles where sympathy for the Palestinians shades into deep enmity toward Israel; concerned he won't take a tough line against Iran; and disappointed in the simple fact that his name, even if it were just plain Joe Smith, is still not Hillary Clinton.

How many of these voters Obama managed to nail down by his performance at the Democratic convention and his selection of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, remains to be seen. But at least he can rest easy that he now has the single most important American-Jewish Democrat of this ilk firmly in his quarter: Haim Saban.

Though the Israeli-American media mogul may not be the richest member of his particular ethnic voting bloc, he is certainly the most generous when it comes to sharing his wealth with politicians.

Saban is the largest individual campaign donor of either party during the past decade, to the tune of some $13 million - an amount that doesn't include the millions more he is credited with securing for his preferred candidates as a fund-raising schnorrer par excellance.

The primary beneficiaries of that largesse have been the Clintons, with whom he is personally close. He was a key backer of Hillary Clinton's race for the White House, and when that bid fizzled last spring, there was concern in Democratic circles that a dispirited Saban might not so enthusiastically shift his largesse to Obama - especially since the candidate has decided to eschew any public campaign financing, and rely only on private donations.

Those worries have now been answered, according to Saban himself in an interview just published in the magazine Portfolio. Any earlier concerns he might have on the depth of Obama's commitment to Israel, he said, were largely answered by the candidate's speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in which he spoke of the past political bonds between Jews and African- Americans in the civil rights movement.

"Him being aware of that, acknowledging that, shows that he may have a visceral commitment, as opposed to a logical or strategic one," said Saban. "That visceral affinity was a question mark for a lot of people. Well, it's no longer a question mark for me."

Saban is fond of describing himself as "right-wing crazy" when it comes to security issues, in particular when it comes to Israel. He's no such thing, of course, except perhaps in the trendy Left Hollywood circles in which he moves.

But he is emblematic of those Jewish Democrats who invested heavily in Hillary Clinton's candidacy, trusted her judgment on Israel and Iran, and have been slow to jump on the Obama bandwagon as it rolls into the campaign's autumn homestretch.

Despite the best efforts of both Clintons at Denver to rally their former troops behind Obama, the Republicans clearly perceive Hillary's disappointed supporters as the weak underbelly in the Democratic camp.

John McCain's selection of little-known Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was clearly aimed directly at this constituency, especially those who were disappointed that a woman failed to make it onto the national ticket.

Though the socially conservative Palin might not make any of those voters switch tickets, it could make it easier for them to justify not bothering going to polls in November to cast ballots that Obama will need in a tight race.

These ranks include a relatively tiny, yet still potentially critical number of centrist American-Jewish voters in such key "battleground states" as Florida and Pennsylvania. They share the outlook, if not the wealth or influence, of a Haim Saban.

In this race the vote of each and every one will likely be crucial.

McCain has unexpectedly played the gender card with his bold pick of Palin, and has reaffirmed "maverick" credentials that earn him support across party lines.

As a result, Obama and his staunchest Jewish supporters will have to work that much harder to convince those Jewish Democrats such as Saban whose head may say the time has come to rally behind their party's standard- bearer, but whose hearts still belong to Hillary.

Jethro Tull  posted on  2009-04-20   8:55:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

#2. To: Jethro Tull (#0)

I missed this. Good find!

Click for Privacy and Preparedness files

PSUSA  posted on  2009-04-20   17:34:37 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  

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