Albright Declines to Endorse Freeman; Dem Leadership Set to Weigh In?

The former Secretary of State appeared on Morning Joe and was less than enthusiastic about the selection of Chas Freeman to head the NIC. Asked her view of the pick, Albright repeatedly refuses to endorse Freeman before struggling to extricate herself from the conversation. The transcript (via the Finkelblog, which also has the video):

BUCHANAN: The 2007 intelligence estimate said that Iran is not now working on a nuclear weapon. Very controversial. But now Dennis Blair, who's head of intelligence has picked Ambassador Charles Freeman to head up this intelligence group which decides on those national intelligence estimates or puts them together. Ambassador Freeman was 40 years in the government, tremendously accomplished. However, he's an enormously controversial figure. He's under fire from the neo-conservatives. A: did he work for you and B: what is your take on the appointment of Ambassador Charles Freeman to that post.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, um, he was, uh, not, I, I did not really work with him particularly, and I don't want to comment on the appointment. I think that Dennis Blair is the new national director of intelligence. I think that he is somebody that is looking at things very carefully. I've read some of the things now about Ambassador Freeman. I think people need to understand that, uh, there are people that can analyze and he is certainly one of them. But I'm not going to comment specifically.

Elsewhere, Greg Sargent reports on his Plum Line blog that "some members of the Dem Congressional leadership may be on the verge of coming out and taking public whacks at Chas Freeman." Sargent says that "a senior Democratic aide tells me that the news about Freeman is being discussed at the highest ranks of Congress, and he says that Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate have privately expressed concerns to Obama administration officials about him."

We knew that the concern was bipartisan, and there has been on the record, bipartisan criticism of the pick, but if and when the Dem leadership comes out on the record against this, that should be the final nail in the coffin. Amazingly, the Freeman appointment may be withdrawn in the face of bipartisan opposition and multiple investigations before the New York Times and Washington Post ever run a single report on the matter.