Harman: More members could have been tapped

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) raised the possibility today that more members of Congress could have been wiretapped by the NSA or FBI.

Defending herself against reports that she was caught on tape offering to intervene in the espionage-related case of two former employees of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Harman said other members are worried that they were taped as well.

“And let’s see who else was wiretapped,” Harman told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I mean lots of members of Congress talk to advocacy organizations. My phone is ringing off the hook in my office from worried members who are asking whether I think it could have happened to them. I think this is an abuse of power, Wolf.”

She added later, “I want to make sure that members of Congress are not routinely wiretapped without their knowledge.”

Harman added that the alleged conversation must have been with an American citizen, meaning the NSA did not have authority to listen.

“I cannot imagine I had any conversation like this with — with anyone who was not an American citizen,” she said.

According to a CQ report yesterday, Harman told a “suspected Israeli agent” that she would intervene to reduce the charges against two former AIPAC officials accused of obtaining and passing along classified information. In return, AIPAC would lobby for her to become Chairwoman of the House Intelligence Committee. According to CQ, Harman ended the conversation with the admonishment, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”

Before the Harman story broke, the NY Times reported that the NSA had attempted to wiretap a member of Congress during a trip to the Middle East. Though the identity of that member is unclear, the Times story referred to a “congressman”–rather than “congresswoman”–and indicated that the conversation in question was with a terrorist affiliate. Those circumstances do not fit Harman’s case.