The intelligence community and Capitol Hill are awaiting House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi’s choice to lead the chamber’s intelligence panel, an explosive decision that will anger key members of her party no matter who she selects.
Even before Democrats won control of the House, reports surfaced that Mrs. Pelosi would skip over Rep. Jane Harman of California, the highest ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and opt instead for Rep. Alcee L. Hastings of Florida or Silvestre Reyes of Texas, the second- and third-ranking on the panel.
Mrs. Harman is backed by many centrists and is seen as hawkish on defense matters, while Mr. Hastings has the support of the powerful Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) but is tainted by his impeachment and removal as a federal judge in 1989.
Mr. Reyes has the backing of many Hispanic members and of those who want a compromise candidate.
“Harman’s well-known and quite respected by those involved in national security affairs,” said Gary Schmitt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a public policy group, and former minority staff director for the Senate intelligence panel.
“Hastings is obviously less well-known and given the impeachment is a far more problematic choice for chairman. … His record is one that’s going to give the intelligence community something of a pause.”
A choice to sidestep Mrs. Harman would be portrayed by Republicans as the second bad political move on Mrs. Pelosi’s part, after her decision to back Rep. John P. Murtha in his failed bid to become House majority leader.
“It shows very flawed judgment on her part,” Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, the second-ranking Republican on the intelligence panel said of a possible Hastings choice. “Her first flawed judgment was backing [Murtha].”
Mr. LaHood said Mrs. Harman “deserves to be chair. She has earned her stripes; she has done the hard work.” He said Mr. Hastings has paid attention to intelligence issues as well but simply doesn’t have Mrs. Harman’s experience.
Calls to Mrs. Harman’s office were not immediately returned, and Mrs. Pelosi has been officially mum. She refused comment at a press event Monday, and a staffer would only say “no decision has been made yet.”
The Associated Press has reported that Mrs. Pelosi already has told Mrs. Harman that she won’t be reappointed to the panel next year, and several publications, including The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times, have said Mrs. Pelosi does not think Mrs. Harman has been tough enough on President Bush.
On Wednesday, Mr. Hastings’ office released a letter he sent to his colleagues seeking their support, denouncing as unfounded the bribery case against him.
He said he has been the victim of “misleading, poorly informed, misinformed and sometimes venomous attacks … by pundits, politicians, and editors screaming the word ‘impeachment,’ ” while making no mention of his acquittal in a court of law.
House Majority Leader-elect Steny H. Hoyer, says he’ll give Mrs. Pelosi his advice on the matter privately. Mrs. Pelosi will make that decision “in a timely fashion, consistent with the interest of the United States and the intelligence community,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Mrs. Pelosi ruffled more than a few feathers when she backed Mr. Murtha of Pennsylvania to be majority leader over Mr. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat and her second-in-command as whip of the minority.
Mrs. Harman is the most qualified for the slot, and there’s also “no question” Mrs. Pelosi would prefer someone else, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute.
He said that since the CBC wants Mr. Hastings to be named, Mrs. Pelosi would be seen as making a politically pressured decision if she chooses him.
“She will tend to be viewed as someone who puts politics above broader concerns like national interest,” Mr. Thompson said.
Mr. Reyes has intelligence knowledge and lacks the “checkered past” of Mr. Hastings, he noted.
In 1981, Mr. Hastings, appointed to the federal bench in Florida by Democratic President Carter, was accused of soliciting a $150,000 bribe in return for a light sentence for two men convicted of racketeering.
A jury cleared Mr. Hastings, but a panel of judges urged he be impeached by the House, which did so in 1988. A year later, the Senate convicted Mr. Hastings and removed him from the bench. In 1992, he was elected to Congress.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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