15 thoughts on “Rep. Harman Conspires With ‘Israeli Agent’ to Aid Alleged Aipac Spies – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Franklin never gave Rosen and Weissman any government documents. Rosen and Weissman never gave Israel any documents. What you allege that Rosen and Rosen were going to pass along secret documents to Israel is your own anti Israel fantasy.

    1. Oh here we go, anything that damages Israel’s image is an anti-Israel fantasy isn’t it.

      “… Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman were fired from Aipac in March 2005 and indicted a few weeks later. They were charged with violating the World War I-era Espionage Act when they shared with colleagues, journalists and Israeli Embassy officials information about Iran and Iraq they had learned from talking to high-level United States policy makers… The trial of Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman seems on track to begin in June in Alexandria, Va.” – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/us/politics/21harman.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

      In this case, you may be right Julian that secret documents being passed to Israel may be a fantasy, but what about non-documented intelligence? Intelligence can be passed on in other ways you know: secret phone calls, secret face-to-face meetings, morse code, secret smoke signals, that thing the guy at the airport does with his arms to guide planes around – but in secret obviously, secret go-betweens, secret nods to the guy sitting opposite you on a park bench, the list is endless.

      Anyway, the fact that the Times left out the key word: Allegedly, from the quote I mentioned says volumes.

      Perhaps next time Israeli intelligence can offer Representatives something more meaningful: “Give us Obama’s full Iran strategy for the next twelve months and we’ll let three tins of spaghetti in to Gaza… Okay, four.”

    2. RE: “Franklin never gave Rosen and Weissman any government documents.”

      Rosen and Weissman were under surveillance in an ongoing investigation. After they met with Franklin, but before any documents were passed, someone ‘leaked’ info on the matter. Consequently, there was a story about it in the media (CBS) tipping off Rosen and Weissman. We will never know what Franklin might have passed to Rosen and Weissman had the leak not occurred and the ‘undercover’ investigation had been allowed to continue.

      SEE “Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Weissman

  2. Harman Scandal: All about War on Iran
    Jeff Stein of CQ.com reported on Sunday evening that the National Security Agency had picked up a telephone conversation by Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) with a suspected spy for Israel. It is alleged that in the conversation, the spy urged Harman to intervene to stop the prosecution for espionage of Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, two career lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who headed up its Middle East bureau. The Israeli agent promised to lobby Pelosi to get Harman the chairmanship of the House Intelligence committee, but appears to have gone too far in doing so.

    You see, for someone to call Harman and ask her to weigh in with the Justice Department on behalf of Rosen and Weissman is not illegal. But once she was offered a position, the conversation was suddenly about a bribe. At that point she is said to have hung up after asserting “This conversation never happened.”

    Israel lobbies did fundraising for Nancy Pelosi in 2006 in hopes of getting Harman the chairmanship.

    Two things here. It should be remembered that this whole affair has been about getting up a war on Iran. That was the point of Franklin leaking to Rosen and Weissman in the first place. Someone should go back through Harman’s statements on Iran.

    Second, the transcript should be released and if it is as alleged, Harman must resign. Congress declares wars or implicitly authorizes them. American soldiers have a right to know that the representatives who send them to war are doing so on behalf of US interests. And that congressional intelligence reports are not plants by a foreign intelligence service.

    Let us just stop and review what is being alleged, and to underline what it means for US security and policy.

    The US is spied on, and a classified Pentagon document is passed to the Israeli embassy by AIPAC officials. They are caught because the FBI had them under surveillance. Apparently the FBI is one of the few US government institutions that is not corrupt on the issue of foreign influence on US institutions and policy. Then when the two AIPAC spies are indicted, a Mossad agent attempts to derail the prosecution by suborning a member of Congress and promising her the chairmanship of the Intelligence Committee.

    Harman is denying it all, of course. But then so did Rosen and Weissman deny it all (or allege that the lack of a US official secrets act means that their passing of a classified Pentagon document to a Mossad agent was not in fact treason or illegal). Harman’s denial is clever, since the NSA wiretap is presumably classified, and so she can’t be contradicted until the document is released.

    posted by Juan Cole @ 4/21/2009 12:25:00 AM

    1. The charges are:

      Conspiracy to transmit information relating to national defense, or NDI (information that is closely held by the United States and that if disclosed would be potentially damaging to the United States or useful to an enemy of the United States), to those not entitled to receive it;

      Communicating NDI to those not entitled to receive it;

      Conspiracy to communicate classified information to an agent of a foreign government.

      The fact that you’re arguing here that “Rosen and Weiss are not charged with passing a Pentagon document to a Mossad agent” and that accusing them of such is tantamount to anti-Israel fantasy is way, way beyond laughable and does not, in any way, lessen the charges or more importantly the gravity of them.

      Sure, it may upset you when the charges against Rosen and Weissman are distorted, but that does not excuse the fact that a) the charges are real; b) they are criminals; c) there is a legitimate case underway against them; and d) Rosen, Weissman, Franklin et al are a bunch of cowardly traitors that manipulated the US democratic process to gain what they could from it. Boo-fucking-hoo for you.

    2. RE: “The judge makes it clear that the only document received by Rosen and Weissman was written by Franklin and faxed to Rosen.”

      MY COMMENT: Rosen and Weissman were under surveillance in an ongoing investigation. After they met with Franklin, but before any documents were passed, someone ‘leaked’ info on the matter. Consequently, there was a story about it in the media (CBS) tipping off Rosen and Weissman. We will never know what Franklin might have passed to Rosen and Weissman had the leak not occurred and the ‘undercover’ investigation had been allowed to continue.

      SEE “Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Weissman

  3. They are charged, which is a fact. As far as being criminals or traitors that remains to be seen. The Prosecutors took a devastating loss when the Appeals Court rule Leonard could testify for the Defense. I
    wouldn’t put my money on the prosecution.
    I’m not upset at all. I expect the facts to be distorted at anti Israel blogs. I actually enjoy the Israel haters and find the people who agree with me boring.
    I find it amazing that people like Juan Cole and Richard Silverstein can’t get the facts right. The whole case is on line. Anybody with a modicum of effort can read the facts. What they write is what they want the case to be, not the reality.

    1. I expect the facts to be distorted at anti Israel blogs. I actually enjoy the Israel haters

      READ MY COMMENT RULES. Call me anti-Israel or Israel hater once more and you’ll lose yr comment privileges faster than your head can spin. If you can’t follow minimal rules indicating intellectual respect, then don’t bother.

      Show me a single fact I’ve gotten wrong. They have been charged and are alleged spies till they are proven guilty. But I have my own strong opinions about their guilt whether or not they are convicted. I’m entitled to those opinions and will express them whether you like it or not.

  4. “After Weissman and Rosen were arrested, an Israeli embassy official, Naor Gilon, beat a hasty retreat from these shores. It quickly became clear that Gilon was the person to whom Rosen and Weissman intended to give Larry Franklin’s purloined top secret documents.”

    You figured out the whole plot. One problem. Rosen and Weissman never had possession of any of Franklin’s purloined document and the government case doesn’t allege they asked for them.

    1. RE: “Rosen and Weissman never had possession of any of Franklin’s purloined document and the government case doesn’t allege they asked for them.”

      MY COMMENT: Rosen and Weissman were under surveillance in an ongoing investigation. After they met with Franklin, but before any documents were passed, someone ‘leaked’ info on the matter. Consequently, there was a story about it in the media (CBS) tipping off Rosen and Weissman. We will never know what Franklin might have passed to Rosen and Weissman had the leak not occurred and the ‘undercover’ investigation had been allowed to continue.

      SEE “Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Weissman

  5. RE: “…ironic that an intelligence maven would get caught like this with her panties down…”

    MY COMMENT: MR. SILVERSTEIN, A LITTLE DECORUM PLEASE!!!(LOL)

    RE: “So could Gilon be the alleged agent?”

    MY COMMENT: very possibly

    RE: “the motivation for leaking this story now”

    MY SPECULATION: M.J.Rosenberg’s scenario? Payback/push back by Charles Freeman sympathizers within the intelligence community? An attempt at neutralizing the Freeman detractors in preparation for a new appointment? An effort by intelligence individuals to make it more difficult for the prosecutors to drop the Rosen/Weissman prosecutions?

  6. Haaretz today cites a 2006 State Comptroller report, according to which, Haim Saban was part of a group that funded Shimon Peres’ campaign to become head of the Labor Party. Saban et al took advantage of a window of two weeks (before a campaign finance reform bill took effect) to pump in hundreds of thousands of dollars. So Haim Saban is messing with Israeli politics too.
    This article also reports that an AIPAC bigwig, Dan Abrahams is in bed with Peres, flying him on his private jet, mixing his employee with official presidential business etc.
    I guess it’s fine if you are in the AIPAC, pro-war camp. On the other hand, if you favor human rights and co-existence, then the line is: “how dare your express an opinion on internal Israeli affairs!”

    1. Abrahams is the Slim Fast King who also slipped lots of hundred dollar bills to Olmert in a NYC hotel room. That was part of the damning evidence against Olmert. Isn’t there any way to be a pol in Israel without being corrupt?? I think that’s a rhetorical question…

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