------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight on MSNBC at 7p, 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT Find MSNBC on your TV http://www.msnbc.com/CableOperator.asp MSNBC also is on your XM satellite radio at channel 130 Tonight Campbell interviews Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz for half the show on what else? Iraq, Iraq, Iraq....And for those who don't know, this guy isn't some ordinary garden variety bureaucrat...He's a key architect of the war in Iraq...Wolfowitz was pushing for regime change in Iraq before pushing for regime change in Iraq was cool (circa '92) The Wolfowitz Dossier (Via Pentagon website) http://www.defenselink.mil/bios/depsecdef_bio.html Speeches & Press Releases (Via Pentagon website) http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/depsecdef.html We'll then get some Wolfowitz reax from a couple of Senators, Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) & Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)... Then in honor of that silly jalapeno eating contest on Capitol Hill yesterday, we spice it up (or "kick it up a notch" as I like to say) with Christopher Hitchens (a man whose erudition and sagacity need no introduction) & Harry Thomason (Clinton confidante & director of the new documentary "The Hunting of the President" based on the Conason/Lyons book)... "Hunting" backgrounder http://www.thehuntingofthepresident.com I assured Harry's publicist that this segment would "rock the house." Shuster is back tonight and provides the following dispatch: "There is a controversial new movie that has just been released. It has been collecting awards, prompting incredible reviews, and seems destined to pack movie theaters nationwide. Unfortunately, "Control Room" is not the subject of my reporting this evening. (I'll have some thoughts on that film for the briefing later this week.) Tonight, however, the temperature will be rising at the Uptown in Cleveland Park where VIP's will be attending the US premier of "Fahrenheit 9/11." They are rolling out the red carpet for celebrities including former Gore recount lawyer David Boies, former Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Rep. John Conyers, Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Richard Durbin, Rep. Charles Rangel, Bernie Shaw (the former CNN anchor, not the poet), and Mayor Anthony Williams. Some of you outside the beltway may be taking issue with my use of the term "celebrity." I should point out, however, that it is now late June in the nation's capital. And anybody who braves the nasty humidity, even for a stroll along the red carpet, deserves some accolades. As for hardball, we will point out this evening that some democrats are a little uncomfortable with some of the more controversial (and unsubstantiated) claims in the movie. For example, Michael Moore says "Iraq under Saddam has never attacked or killed or threatened any Americans." Some americans remember the western hostages taken during the Kuwait invasion, or the sponsorship of suicide bombers in Jerusalem, and etc. and etc. And these democrats wonder if Michael Moore's sloppiness is giving ammunition to republican critics taking aim at the film's credibility. In any case, we will have the red carpet sights and sounds of the big premiere... and perhaps we will even stick a microphone in a VIP's face and ask them (politely, of course) about a few of the claims. Tune in... the red carpet in tonight's E block. We'll of course get Harry & Christopher's take on Moore's new film in addition to the Clinton stuff... Dare I put this in the "sine qua non" file of cable television tonight...My buddy Robert Cox over at thenationaldebate.com would say "Tivo This"....I'm definitely gonna have to break out the TV trays and the popcorn tonight... Btw, here's some news that will make you feel better about using our website...MSNBC.com has been named "Best Journalism Site" by the National Press Club and will be honored tonight in an award ceremony.. Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC Roadside blast kills 3 near Baghdad hospital...U.S. airstrike targets terrorist safehouse in Fallujah (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5225026/ Justice disavows 'torture memo'...Stung by suggestions that top U.S. officials encouraged mistreatment of prisoners from the war on terrorism, the Justice Department disavowed a memo that appeared to justify the use of torture Tuesday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5259200/ President Bush said he has never ordered the torture of Iraqi or al Qaeda prisoners as the White House on Tuesday released secret documents showing the use of dogs to induce fear was approved among interrogation methods at Guantanamo Bay and then abandoned. (AP) http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/410779|top|06-22-2004::19:25|reutershtml 'Values' guided Bush torture ban (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040623-124644-1098r.htm New figures released yesterday by the Bush administration show dramatically higher terrorism casualties last year than the State Department documented in an April report that U.S. officials heralded as evidence of great progress in the battle against terrorism. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A60660-2004Jun22?language=printer Threat to kill Iraqi PM....An audio recording purportedly made by al-Qaida-linked militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and found online Wednesday threatened to assassinate Iraq's interim prime minister and said the fight against "infidels" would continue "until Islamic rule is back on earth." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5273048/ New envoy to Iraq hopes for positive trend...Negroponte urges Americans to be patient after transfer of power (AP) The Associated Press sued the Pentagon and the Air Force on Tuesday, seeking access to all records of George W. Bush's military service during the Vietnam War. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040623/D83CI1280.html Under fresh attack by Republicans to resign his Senate seat after missing months of votes, John F. Kerry returned to the Senate chambers yesterday to be in position to vote on a bill providing improved health care for veterans -- a move that triggered a partisan battle among his colleagues. (The Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/kerry/articles/2004/06/23/rare_kerry_appearance_causes_uproar_in_senate/ Sen. John Kerry held a brief, secretive meeting with potential running mate John Edwards, a spur-of-the-moment session in the Capitol that capped an unusual day of hurry-up-and-wait in the heavily scripted life of the Democratic presidential candidate. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040623/D83CPDI80.html A majority of Americans harbor bad feelings toward Bill Clinton, but he's no longer the political pariah Al Gore made him out to be four years ago. Unlike Gore, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry is embracing the former president's economic record and taking action to capitalize on his popularity among minorities. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040622/D83C62NG0.html Did Ashcroft brush off terror warnings?...NBC exclusive: 9/11 commission interviews FBI officials who contradict Ashcroft testimony http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5271234/ Quality of new jobs a matter of debate...MoveOn.org ad sparks election-year give-and-take (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5271961/ Encouraging preliminary ratings for all-liberal Air America in New York have collapsed along with the fledgling radio network's finances. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/26172.htm Promoter wants Springsteen vs. Bush: 'Concert for Change' would upstage GOP (Reuters) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5269402/ Pickin' and politickin'...Musicians lend their voices to campaigns (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5269698/ Clinton hits his decision on inquiry...The January 1994 White House request for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Whitewater scandal was the "worst presidential decision I ever made," former President Bill Clinton says in his new book, "My Life." (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040623-124648-9647r.htm Terry: Clinton Gave 500,000 Bureaucrats Your Charge Card http://humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=4267 Opinion/Editorial Shafer: Libel Suit 9/1...Michael Moore's hysterical, empty threats. http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2102725 Doonesbury http://msnbc.com/comics/daily.asp?sFile=db040623 Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. You have received The Hardball Briefing Newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone forwarded it to you. To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this message was forwarded to you) simply go to http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19 Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052 MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT http://privacy.msn.com