Jane Harman | 04/22/2009 8:25 am

Rep. Jane Harman Responds to Wiretap Allegations: 'Abuse of Power' (Video)

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

California Democrat Jane Harman took to the airwaves yesterday to defend herself against accusations that she attempted to help two Israeli officials accused of espionage, an act that was allegedly caught on NSA wiretap tapes. And those tapes, said Harman, should be released by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Wrote Harman in a letter to Mr. Holder, "This abuse of power is outrageous, and I call on your department to release all transcripts and other investigative material involving me in an unredacted form … It is my intention to make this material available to the public.” Opponents have criticized Harman’s anger as ironic, because she’s one of eight Democrats to approve of the Bush Administration’s expansion of warrantless wiretaps.

Watch Harman defend herself against MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell:

Read more about: Andrea Mitchell, Israel, Jane Harman, News, NSA, Politics, Video, Wiretaps

9 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

So does she say it wasnt her? I havent heard anyone ask her, was it you on those tapes and what did you say?

By C Hardy on 04/22/2009 8:51 am

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If she has prove that it wasn’t her on the tapes then they should be heard by the relevant parties asking the questions about them. If she is willing to have all transcripts put out there that seems to me that she could be telling the truth, so let them be put out there so folks can see.

By caj p on 04/22/2009 9:29 am

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I am all for hearing the tapes but I dont know what this lady sounds like other then what I have heard when listening to her on this interview. Maybe a voice expert should hear it and give us their take?

By C Hardy on 04/22/2009 9:58 am

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The main point here is that wiretapping is illegal. Doesn’t matter what they caught on tape. Also, this proves to me that the Bush justice dept. was, as suspected, using wiretapping for political information, not just terrorism.

Remember people, those of you who have forgotten what you learned in Civics class in school… we are a country of laws… the end does not justify the means, whether it is use of torture or illegally obtained information through unauthorized wiretapping.

This is a non-partisan issue, it is an issue of whether or not this country operates under a system of laws, or whether this country is going to run like the USSR was.

By DeBúrca obj on 04/22/2009 9:56 am

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DeB…can you stop for just a minute and think…what if one of these calls or one of those torture techniques used stopped a major terrorist attack on Chicago and saved the life of your 2 sons and daughter? So you would rather see innocent people die then to use techniques like this?

By C Hardy on 04/22/2009 10:00 am

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We are a country of laws, at least we were. Unauthorised wire tapping is illegal. Don’t you understand the ramifications of allowing a party in power to use this illegal method to obtain information in order to strong arm their opposition? This is an extremely dangerous thing.

Your logic would have us wiretapping and torturing like the KGB. That is not the country I grew up in and not the country I want to live in.

By DeBúrca obj on 04/22/2009 10:34 am

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No your wrong "Your logic would have us wiretapping and torturing like the KGB. That is not the country I grew up in and not the country I want to live in." that is not my logic. You dont know what my logic is just b/c I posed that question to you…I can ask you any question I want and that doesnt mean that is my logic.

By C Hardy on 04/22/2009 10:47 am