Spies . . .





Item: Congresswoman - Jane Harman - and an (alleged) Israeli spy were caught trading power and connections in 2005.

This happens in Washington all the time, except usually not on a wiretap. And usually we don't admit we tap the phones of allies or congresspeople. Not that allies would spy on us . . . any more than a congressperson would trade influence for a quid pro quo . . . or an ally would be able to influence who gets a plum spot in congress or the administration.

It's been claimed that the matter was dropped because of U.S. politics - Harman had helped pass administration programs, ironically including wiretapping legislation. But there would have been plenty of other reasons, including the nature of the original investigation itself.

This is exactly the sort of scandal that does no one any good, so it's likely to fade from the headlines pretty quickly. Which is a shame - we can use a good scandal that has nothing to do with the economy.