First Do No Harman

Greg Sargent follows up on the Harman case and discovers that indeed Jane Harman spoke to the NY Times to stop the wiretapping story from coming out, a story that could have cost Bush the election in 2004.

As I noted here yesterday, one key revelation in that big CQ Politics scoop is that Harman may have privately tried to kill the story in 2004. Yesterday Times executive editor Bill Keller said that Harman hadn’t spoken to him or influenced his decision.

But now Times spokesperson Catherine Mathis sends over a more detailed statement from Keller explaining what really happened:

Congresswoman Harman spoke to Washington Bureau Chief Phil Taubman in late October or early November, 2004, apparently at the request of General Hayden. She urged that The Times not publish the story. She did not speak to me, and I don’t remember her being a significant factor in my decision. In 2005, when we were getting ready to publish, Phil met with a group of congressional leaders familiar with the eavesdropping program, including Ms. Harman. They all argued that The Times should not publish. The Times published the story a few days later.

So Harman did urge the paper’s Washington bureau chief not to publish. While the timing is slightly fuzzy, it seems fair to assume in light of the CQ story that it was in fact before the election.

And if so, it means Jane Harman, a Democrat, helped sink the Democrats in 2004. Probably a hell of a lot of Dems aren't going to be happy with her.

Yet another wrinkle in this crazy affair.