At this point Harman is fighting mad demanding release of unredacted transcripts- I’d say the jury is out on whether she actually did anything wrong wrt to this quid pro quo.
I think she is being targeted to warn off other dems that they are on some tapes too, and thus could be victims of anonymous “former intelligence official” leaks.

Maybe. If I were Dawn Johnsen, I’d be keenly aware that those waivers aren’t worth much if any prosecution got going, and that his proclamations are poltiical.

And releasing the memos isn’t really so small. It turns up stuff, which leads to other stuff… as we see happening right around us.

Your cynicism about DoJ is surely justified (though I’m going to have to wash that metaphor out of my mind ;>).

I’m no expert, but my take is:

1- When the improper suggestion is made, say: “Absolutely not. This conversation is over.”

2 – Hang up the phone and call the FBI on another line. Document and/or get a witness that you have done so.

TPM is saying that Harman is calling for the release of the transcripts. I think that makes the original point about how they were obtained that much more interesting. With Harman’s background, she probably has a very good idea of what is supposed to happen with “inadvertently” obtained US persons conversations under most FISA warrants. I’m guessing that it might be those transcripts shouldn’t exist any longer if she was not a target herself and if NSA/FBI followed minimization procedures or court orders. So this may be some chicken at work. If FBI still has them, maybe it is in violation (like that would be a shock) of court orders – if it doesn’t have them, no one can “prove” the info.

Her problem right now isn’t really how this will play criminally – it’s how it will play in her district. Can she make it out that she’s a victim? I don’t think so.

When did five become three? Five men were kidnaped, and it’s possible that two were quietly released since, but that wasn’t true as of early 2008. Is anyone aware of any coverage of the prisoners?

It used to infuriate me when stories about Haleh Esfandariah and other Iranian-Americans held in prison or under house arrest in Iran would never so much as mention the Irbil prisoners.

My take is less cynical than Mary’s. I’d actually wondered if Dawn Johnsen, during the week or two of public speculation and dueling leaks (they’re going to release the OLC memos / they’re not going to / they’re going to release them but heavily redacted), hadn’t had a quiet word with her future boss Holder or even with Pres. Obama. Something along the lines of, “If you don’t release the memos cleanly, I don’t want the job anymore.”

It’s one thing to be left twisting in the wind waiting for confirmation. It’s another to do so while the principle for which you are a major spokesperson — no secret laws — is very publicly repudiated in practice by the organization you’re waiting to work for.

That aint hardly “chump change”.