The House Intelligence Committee Kerfuffle

So damaged goods Rep. Alcee Hastings is out of the running for the chair of this committee. Rep. Jane Harman, by virtue of her getting everything wrong in the lead-up to the Iraq War (though she's much improved), ought to be out on principle, and especially because the "sensible centrists" of the Beltway school love her. Rush Holt, who's smart and cagey and has the requisite experience, ought to be the compromise candidate.

But what's more interesting is how the House Intelligence Committee Chairman has suddenly become the next "big test" in Nancy Pelosi's leadership, as if attention has ever been paid to such committee assignments in the past. Like Glenn Greenwald says, Harman represents a certain kind of sensible centrism and that's true. But also, the Republicans are out with the knives and desperate to stir up as much discord as possible in an effort to make Pelosi look bad. It's not working, by the way; the Q-Poll from yesterday shows her personal approval ratings up quite a bit. But just like in the 90s, the Republicans and their emissaries in the media are in full attack mode. Barney Frank noticed it and good for him:

WALLACE: Congressman Frank, you were quite honest. You said that Pelosi's effort to put Murtha in as her No. 2, John Murtha, over Steny Hoyer, was, as you put it, an error in judgment. Would it be an error in judgment to name Alcee Hastings to the House Intel Committee?

FRANK: No, I don't think so, although, Chris, I've got to say, Chris, you have an odd view of balance. I've just been listening, and every single question you asked, none of -- you said it's to see what the Democrats are going to be like. We were all prepared to talk about a very positive agenda we have in tax fairness, in environmental concerns, in housing, and, of course, all of your questions have been aimed at trying to find points of controversy, which are not going to be high on our agenda [...]

But again, I am struck by the tenor of your questions. You advertise this as giving us a chance to talk about what we're going to do, but everything is aimed at trying to put us in a kind of a bad light and look at the most controversial and not very representative things that we plan to do.

WALLACE: Well, let me see if I can do better, Congressman Frank. Let's do a series of questions about some various issues that will come up before your committee.

The idea is to damage the incoming Democratic leaders politically. Everything the Republicans do is suffused with politics and this is no different. It seems to me that Rep. Pelosi is concerned with the political fallout but also with picking the best man or woman for the job. This story from yesterday shows just how important the role is:

The Justice Department's internal watchdog said Monday it has opened an investigation into the agency's use of information gathered in the government's warrantless surveillance program.

In a letter to House Judiciary Committee leaders and obtained by The Associated Press, Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said his investigators would focus on the Justice Department's role in carrying out the spying program run by the National Security Agency.

Fine wrote that he wants to ensure that prosecutors are following laws governing the handling of information NSA gathers when spying on suspected terrorists in the United States.

Clearly the Justice Department is trying to slam the door on efforts by Democrats to investigate the warrantless wiretapping system. They're trying to claim "Don't worry, we've got it" and get down to the business of investigating themselves. They've even tapped a so-called independent board and gave them a briefing on all the great civil liberties safeguards in the program (after delaying this mandatory meeting by almost a year, presumably so they could figure out what to say). They've even got useful idiot Lanny Davis going on and on about how wonderful the privacy protections in the system are.

None of this matters. Executive order does not trump federal statute. The President needs to bring this program in compliance with the FISA court or get the Congress to change the FISA law. Period. It's crucial that there's a strong voice out in front of the House Intelligence Committee to explain this simple truth. Jane Harman defended the warrantless wiretapping immediately, even on national television, and denounced the leak that led to its disclosure, and came around to understanding that the President was breaking the law entirely too late.

We need better judgment in that chairmanship. I think Nancy Pelosi gets this. We'll see.