Harman: Conservatives Falsely Hyped Terror Threat Against U.S. Capitol To Pass FISA Expansion
Harman: Conservatives Falsely Hyped Terror Threat Against U.S. Capitol To Pass FISA Expansion
On August 2, Roll Call issued a breaking news report, warning of a suspected terror threat against the U.S. Capitol:
Capitol Police officials have stepped up the department’s security presence on Capitol Hill in response to intelligence indicating the increased possibility of an al-Qaida terrorist attack on Congress sometime between now and Sept. 11.
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) ratcheted up the rhetoric, “ominously” advising that “Congress needed to pass changes to terrorist surveillance laws before leaving for the August recess and warned that otherwise ‘the disaster could be on our doorstep.’”
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), speaking at a FISA event yesterday organized by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, stated that the terror claims were “part of a well-orchestrated campaign” by the administration to politicize the FISA debate. She referred to the efforts as part of the “Rovian strategy of using terrorism as a wedge political issue.” Harman asserted that the intelligence agencies “knew” the terror claims propagated by conservative lawmakers were false:
That specific intelligence claim, it turned out, was bogus; the intelligence agencies knew that –apparently had communicated to Congress or to relevant people that it was bogus, the source was unreliable. But that communication wasn’t in any published form until the day that the Senate passed the amendments to FISA.
Watch it:
It’s still unclear exactly how much the vote was influenced by these events, but at a minimum it demonstrates that the politicization of terror and safety has sunk to a new low on the decency scale.
Raw Story has more.
— Dave de Give
This post was submitted through our Blog Fellows program. Make your own contribution — and get paid for it — by clicking here.
Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date
42 Responses to “Harman: Conservatives Falsely Hyped Terror Threat Against U.S. Capitol To Pass FISA Expansion”
Register
RSSLogin
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Think ProgressContact Us
Donate
These people aren’t conservatives. They are fascists and authoritarians. Big difference.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:12 pmDid anyone NOT think this was another typical “false flag”? Geesh! What are we paying these people for if the public is smarter than they are??
September 20th, 2007 at 7:15 pmHaving said that, knowing what they know now, they can see that this temporary measure certainly cannot be made permanent. Can’t they see it’s just another “abuse of power” by BushCo?
September 20th, 2007 at 7:16 pmIf it is ‘Bogus’ and falsely hyped terror as she says…What is she and other members of this Congress are going to do about it..?
September 20th, 2007 at 7:33 pmwhat’s truly astonishing is not that the GOP continues to use these kind of bogus scare tactics (that’s to be expected), but that the Dems continue to fall for them.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pmOur media is aiding and abetting the Republican Party in their continuous deceits by simply playing stenographer and repeating what they say, instead of fact-checking what they say and report that Republicans are lying again.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:45 pmJake D., you’ve got nothin’. Get back into the basement.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:48 pmI don’t understand why anyone believes anything they say anymore. This is the biggest case of “cry wolf” we have ever experienced.
And of course the scare affected votes. The chickenshit Democrats who didn’t want to be accused of being soft on terrorism were scared to death that something would happen while they were on vacation and didn’t want to be blamed for it. It doesn’t matter that we have all the tools we need to catch terrorists with our civil rights protected, they panicked. And I hope their constituents pay them back in November of 2008.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:50 pmFear and smear, fear and smear.
Hey is Jake D Fake on everyones Ignore list, no one seems to pay any attention to the poor simpleton anymore.
And has everyone noticed how much more quiet the Troll patrol is now with the registration, alot of names have just seemed to vanish? Like we don’t know why, nice.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:50 pmWe don’t have the whole story here, and I hope Jane will go after it. Where did the false intelligence reports originate? Who in the Congress or which relevent people knew it was false yet held on to it until FISA vote day?
On Aug 2 Roll Call broke the story about an “imminent threat” from an “unnamed Capitol Police source told Roll Call that Congressional security officials were recently made aware of the potential threat by federal anti-terrorism authorities.”
Further, “Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who helps oversee Capitol campus issues as ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, would only say Thursday that “the leaders of the committees of jurisdiction have been briefed on threats to the Capitol.—
Who briefed them? Who briefed the briefers?
We need to know who specifically is perpetrating these hoaxes on the country, Jane.
September 20th, 2007 at 7:51 pmSo what? Shes worried about not been part of the FISA scam or something?
September 20th, 2007 at 7:52 pmAnd how much $ did she think the conservative rake in. Its a bad thing to be a Democrat and to be a Whimp at the sametime! Shes another pathetic picture of the losers demo doing nothing to stop that kid-president! I would rather eat a bullet than end up like these losers!
g.o.p. practicing the fine art of the politics of “Fear”.
creasybear practicing the fine art of looking like a loon. Yeah, we get the “bold face”. Either you are . . .
September 20th, 2007 at 7:55 pm1. Passionate
2. Wacko
3. Troll
Hey is Jake D Fake on everyones Ignore list, no one seems to pay any attention to the poor simpleton anymore.
And has everyone noticed how much more quiet the Troll patrol is now with the registration, alot of names have just seemed to vanish? Like we don’t know why, nice.
Comment by Buckie Boy — September 20, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
Isn’t it great!
September 20th, 2007 at 7:58 pmI’m guessing it was the “national security professionals” George mentioned this morning who are responsible for the so-called intelligence.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pmShhh. Keith is on. Special Comment tonight.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pmSo, somebody knew that the endorsement for illegal activities towards US population was based on bogus…after the WMD bogus, the Saddam/Al Qaeda link bogus…after the installation of democracy in Iraq bogus…after the last throes bogus…after the 9/11 bogus… oops.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:13 pmShhh. Keith is on. Special Comment tonight.
Comment by Candyce — September 20, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Have to catch the repeat tonight, still at work=P
September 20th, 2007 at 8:13 pmHey is Jake D Fake on everyones Ignore list, no one seems to pay any attention to the poor simpleton anymore.
Comment by Buckie Boy
Jake who?
September 20th, 2007 at 8:14 pmEvery year for the last six years, SOMEONE has been expecting an attack on 9/11.
And every year people will come dressed in scary outfits in the month of october.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:16 pmBlackwater USA is looking for fellas just like you, creasybear…
September 20th, 2007 at 8:18 pm#11…I don’t know what you’re talking about. republicans have never been the fear and smear party. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
September 20th, 2007 at 8:20 pmThe logic is flawed.
They knew of a threat without new FISA rulings.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:25 pmFalsely hyping things is the only way Cons have ever gotten anyone to go along with them on anything, for the entire history of the Country.
Take away false hype and you’ve effectively dismantled the gop/con movement.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:32 pmAnybody else hearing a high-pitched squealing noise in here? Kinda like Ned Beatty in Deliverance?
September 20th, 2007 at 8:33 pmThey knew of a threat without new FISA rulings.
Comment by Xisithrus — September 20, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
They certainly were warned about 9/11 comin’ right at ‘em.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:34 pmThey certainly were warned about 9/11 comin’ right at ‘em.
Comment by The Republic of Stupidity
Yet only six senators, Edwards and Biden being a few, read the intelligence set up for them before the Iraq resolution was voted on.
September 20th, 2007 at 8:39 pmI thought a lot of Bush’s actions after 9/11 were overcompensations for his failure to avert it…
“Not on my watch.”
But things like this scaremongering make me think he’s abusing 9/11.
Or he might want the FISA bill passed so that he has an argument if he is ever impeached…
“Congress ratified my actions.”
September 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pmRep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), who has had to fend off allegations in recent weeks about questionable Central American land deals, will announce Friday that he will not seek an eighth term in 2008, inside sources confirmed late Thursday.
The good ship lollipop is losing crewmembers at an alarming rate.
As Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) announced his retirement from the House on Monday, his candid acknowledgement that he is among a “dying breed†of GOP moderates in the chamber surely reverberated throughout the ranks of his party leaders and fellow centrists.
Maybe that should be drowning breed?
What do they know but aren’t saying? Is this related to Abramoff?
September 20th, 2007 at 8:49 pmThanks for reporting this Thinkprogress. I thought it was kinda important too… In fact, I naively expected to see it on front pages everywhere. Did I misinterpret this, or did the administration knowingly lie to usurp more of our Constitutional liberties? If I told Congress there is a impending terrorist plot to attack the Capital, knowing it was false…what would they do to me? They’d throw a brown sack over my head and hustle me to one of those facilities where law-and-order and due process are “open to interpretation”.
I thought they swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution… I guess treason isn’t newsworthy. My bad.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:00 pmgood story, dave de give … a.k.a. dday? … just curious…
this story was linked to earlier this evening on the mcconnell thread,
September 20th, 2007 at 9:10 pmand THAT story was up before noon eastern over at kos… no matter…
except to emphasize how very important this story is…
and a H/T where due?
…
Gee, Rep Harman…..ya think?
**eyes rolling**
September 20th, 2007 at 9:19 pmAnd this excuses Democrats passing the FISA “emergency” bill how? Why would any Democrat believe anything the Bush administration tells them? They have no excuses. None.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:42 pm“Congress ratified my actions.â€
Comment by Martin Gifford — September 20, 2007 @ 8:46 pm
Gee, ya think?
These guys remind me so much of the Mafia. Their main “product” so to speak, what tye’re really selling to the American public? FEAR!!!!
“If youse don’t all do what we tell youse ta do, terrible t’ings will happen ta youse all…”
- George “Three Finger” Bush…
September 20th, 2007 at 9:57 pmYou wanna to pay da insurance or we breaka your legs. Hey it woiked on mulberry street in the old days .
September 20th, 2007 at 10:14 pmDummy up .
someone who looks like the person in the picture above
represents a portion of california
and the united states
in congress?
too bad.
she looks like she needs to dry out,
use less make up and tanning lotion,
and let her hair go back to its natural color.
summary:
immediately and intuitively, this is not a picture of a leadership - more like a picture of a personal wreck.
as an aside, harmon must feel threatened,
she has never spoken out like this before,
while being, in fact, one of the bush administrations reliable democrats.
seeing the light;
it’s such a powerful process.
September 20th, 2007 at 10:27 pmRep. Jane Harman (D-CA), speaking at a FISA event yesterday organized by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, stated that the terror claims were “part of a well-orchestrated campaign†by the administration to politicize the FISA debate.
Ok. Now what will be done about it? {crickets}
September 20th, 2007 at 11:07 pmWhat!?
The Bush administration and its minions hyping a threat that wasn’t!!??
That is unheard of!
I am shocked, SHOCKED, I tell ya!!
September 20th, 2007 at 11:41 pmShhh. Keith is on. Special Comment tonight.
Boy, he sure was on fire. But I’m pissed. My damn TIVO cut off the last couple of sentences.
I sure wish that the entire nation would be forced to watch all of his special comments. It might actually wake up a few brain cells out there and cause people to actually think about all the propaganda they are being fed.
And shame on the Democratic Senators who voted to chastise moveon.org. After all the sleazy character assassinations that have come out of this administration, they have no moral high ground to stand on to be pissed at moveon.org.
Besides, all they are doing is to bring more attention to the subject. Just like Faux Noise did by cutting away from Sally Fields. If they hadn’t done that, what she said would have been a blip. But now it’s out there for the world to see.
September 21st, 2007 at 12:31 amjust watched keith’s special comment…
w o w …
if only he had been able to deliver that LAST night…
September 21st, 2007 at 1:12 amif only the senate had seen it… then IF cornyn was still dumb enough
to set up that worthless resolution after listening to that comment,
then surely the votes would not have been there… surely…
…
#41 Katy:
just watched keith’s special comment…
w o w …
if only he had been able to deliver that LAST night…
if only the senate had seen it… then IF cornyn was still dumb enough
to set up that worthless resolution after listening to that comment,
then surely the votes would not have been there… surely…
Nope. Cornyn’s got no other tools in his tiny shed, and the Democrats that voted for Cornyn’s resolution would still be pissing their pants. Don’t think that rationality intrudes into this kind of stuff….
Cheers,
P.S.: I know you were being sarcastic… :-)
September 21st, 2007 at 6:49 amI wonder if any Republicans have heard of the story of the boy who cried wolf?
They are endangering us ALL by pushing these false reports.
September 21st, 2007 at 1:27 pmOK so a lot of people knew the claim was bogus… but Congress went ahead and OK’ed it anyway. What’s that say about our Congress? They continue to be the lapdogs of Bush all the while complaining that he’s doing Very Bad Things… and yet not doing anything about it. Oh sure they can talk the talk, but they have yet to take a firm stance on anything.
It’s quite disgusting.
Impeach the bastard. Take a stand, do something about it besides complaining to news medias, Congress. We elected you to do a job, go do it.
September 21st, 2007 at 2:35 pm