Last update - 00:00 21/10/2006
Time Magazine fingers AIPAC as supporting California Democrat
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent
A Time Magazine report indicates that the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Justice Department are investigating suspicions that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) worked to ensure that Democratic Congresswoman Jane Harman be reappointed as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
The report, published Friday on Time's Internet news site, says that California Congresswoman Harman and AIPAC arranged for wealthy supporters to lobby House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Harman's behalf.
Attempting to influence the outcome of the election of Congressional representatives to committees is a federal offense.
Time, which said it based its report on U.S. government sources, reported that the FBI is also investigating whether, in exchange for AIPAC's support, Harman agreed to help try to persuade the Administration to go lighter on the ongoing felony investigation of two former AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman.
According to Time, Harman denied the allegations in a voice mail message, calling them "irresponsible, laughable and scurrilous."
Harman's attorney, Ted Olsen, said Harman "is not aware of any such investigation, does not believe that it is occurring."
Time also quoted an AIPAC spokesman, Patrick Dorton, who denied any knowledge of a probe.
The Time article also noted that according to information it had received from sources
in Congress, billionaire Haim Saban, a Democratic Party contributor, had phoned Pelosi and discussed the importance of Harman's reelection to the committee.
AIPAC, one of the most influential lobbies in Washington, has been dealing over the past year with fallout from the ongoing investigation against the two former senior officials who allegedly received classified information from Lawrence Franklin, a former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency official.
Franklin pleaded guilty; the two AIPAC officials denied the allegations, but were dismissed from the lobby.