WASHINGTON — The former senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee asked the Justice Department on Tuesday to release all transcripts of her recorded conversations involving the treatment of two pro-Israel lobbyists accused of spying.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder that she never interceded in a government investigation of the two lobbyists awaiting trial on charges of passing classified information to reporters and former diplomats.
Congressional Quarterly reported Monday that Harman was overheard agreeing to seek lenient treatment for Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman.
Harman wrote to Holder that the government secretly wiretapped her conversations in 2005 or 2006 while she was ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee.
She urged Holder to investigate possible wiretapping of members of Congress and selective leaks of investigative material for political purposes, calling the recordings an abuse of power.
CQ said Harman was said to have been picked up on a court- approved National Security Agency tap directed at alleged Israeli covert-action operations in Washington. Alberto Gonzales, then attorney general, intervened to stop the Harman probe, CQ said.
Three top former national security officials were quoted by CQ as saying Gonzales wanted Harman to be able to help defend the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, which was about to be revealed by The New York Times. CQ said Gonzales declined to comment through a spokesman.
Later Tuesday, government officials said the Justice Department is considering dropping its case against Rosen and Weissman. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
