Don’t Tap Me, Bro

Lawmakers are nervous, thanks to news that a wiretap picked up Rep. Jane Harman's (D-CA) conversations with a suspected Israeli spy, reports Roll Call (sub. req'd).

House Democratic leaders want to talk with the Justice Department about drawing up “new protocols” for investigations that involve members of Congress, according to the paper.

Harman's case is only the most recent involving secret surveillance and a lawmaker. In 2006, the Justice Department tapped then-Rep. Rick Renzi's (D-AZ) phone to obtain criminal evidence against him. (Renzi's lawyers, joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), have objected.) And former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) reportedly agreed to wear a wire shortly after the Feds busted him for bribery.

Unlike Renzi's case, Harman reportedly was not the target of the investigation whose wiretap picked up her conversations.