Who is After Jane Harman?

The 1930s will be remembered by Russia watchers as the era of the Stalin Show Trials. Many of those tried and executed were the former leaders of the Communist party; the rivals to Stalin for power.

In the American Democratic Party, the chosen method of liquidation is not the midnight knocks at the door or the forced confession in a show trial. The preferred method is the anonymous source to David Corn of The Nation or to anyone at the NY Times.

Which brings us to Jane Harman. The ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, she had the reputation of rationality, a reputation that has of late become rather tattered. It has been puzzling me until the linked article on The American Thinker provided a reasonable explanation.

Michael Barone notices, as have I, that in the past few months the normally sensible and moderate Harman has been behaving out of character. He offers this explanation:

Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the committee, has protested strongly against the staffer’s suspension. Harman for several years has been a responsible member on the committee. But during the course of this calendar year, she has been making more shrill partisan statements and fewer thoughtful critiques. The most likely reason: pressure from the Democratic left.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is said to be determined to replace her with Alcee Hastings, the former federal judge who was impeached by the House for bribery and convicted and removed from office by the Senate…

[snip]
But if this isn’t strange enough, Time online has a most peculiar story —one so nonsensical it could only have been planted by people in her own party who, having realized marginalizing defense hawks in the party through the ballot box (ala Lieberman) is a losing strategy, have now resorted to under-the-radar smearing of them.

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.

The article is sourced to the Nation, megaphone of the lying left.

There is an interesting moral end ethical question that one asks oneself: how much is your honor worth. The price for a lot of people is surprisingly low.