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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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You've got Spring Fever, I've got Spring Fever, we all want to get out of here, lets
not make this too complicated...Barnicle is guest hosting tonight from
Boston...Emerson will do the FBI stuff out of Minneapolis and the bureaucratic snafus
coming left and right from the intelligence crowd...Mueller has ordered an
investigation into the matter...details below...Arkin will do the military stuff...The
Washington Post has a front page above the fold piece on the military's attempt to
delay any Iraq invasion...
Arkin, btw, scored a Howie Kurtz puff piece today: Explosive Analyst...William Arkin,
Giving Opinions Left and Right
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1351-2002May23.html
My boss is quoted: Phil Griffin, MSNBC's executive producer: "We have all these
military analysts on who seem to spout the company line. Arkin, who's been everywhere
we've talked about, he's reliable. You're talking about Iraq, he's been to Iraq, he's
studied Saddam, he really knows it, as opposed to speaking the regular gobbledygook."
We may do this story as well...The day after a judge gave a 43-year-old schoolteacher
probation for having sex with her 13-year-old student, Bergen County's top prosecutor
vowed to appeal and a state assemblywoman called for his removal from the bench.
(Bergen Record) http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php?level_3_id=7&page=3694952
Frankly a number of things are in the air right now but for those of you who aren't on
the road tonight I expect you to tune in...I gotta finish my leftovers from last night
and deal with a bunch of pre-tapes...Have a great weekend, Dominic
A Minneapolis FBI agent has charged that bureau headquarters threw up a "roadblock" to
the investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui's suspected terrorist ties before the Sept. 11
attacks, it was disclosed Thursday. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1576/2857154.html
Statement by FBI Director Robert Mueller concerning allegations made by the agent
involved in the pre-Sept. 11 terrorism investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui (AP)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/2857863.html
The F.B.I. director, Robert S. Mueller III, said today that he was ordering an
internal inquiry into complaints by a senior agent in Minneapolis that officials at
headquarters repeatedly held back agents in Minneapolis who sought to investigate
Zacarias Moussaoui aggressively in the days before the Sept. 11 hijackings. (The New
York Times)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=68&ncid=68&e=3&u=/nyt/20020524/ts_nyt/agent_complaints_lead_f_b_i__director_to_ask_for_inquiry
Time: Why Didn't the FBI Fully Investigate Moussaoui?...In a letter to bureau chief
Robert Mueller, an FBI agent speaks out against what she calls a 'climate of fear'
that prevented agents from doing their jobs
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,249500,00.html
Terror threats don't dampen plans...Even with heightened security in New York and
elsewhere this week following a new terror threat, most Americans say the terror
attacks have not affected their Memorial Day and summer vacation plans, a new poll
has found.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/753096.asp
Intriguing: Page Six...David Brock, who made his reputation attacking Hillary Clinton
before his conversion to the left, had lunch yesterday with the freshman senator
http://pagesix.com/pagesix/16701.htm
WashPost: Iraq invasion put on hold...The uniformed leaders of the U.S. military
believe they have persuaded the Pentagon's civilian leadership to put off an invasion
of Iraq until next year at the earliest and perhaps not to do it at all, according to
senior Pentagon officials.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/756683.asp
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played down those
concerns in a Pentagon news conference with Rumsfeld. "Your military is ready today to
execute whatever mission the civilian leadership asks us to do," Pace said. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&ncid=716&e=1&u=/ap/20020524/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_1
U.S. and coalition forces raided a suspected Taliban leadership compound in
Afghanstan, killing one and detaining 50 fighters, the Pentagon said Friday. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20020524/ap_on_re_as/afghan_us_military_2
Bush, Putin ink nuclear arms cut pact...President Bush arrived in Moscow Thursday, the
second stop of his European tour. In Germany, Bush called Saddam Hussein "a threat to
civilization," and asked for help in keeping the Iraqi leader from working with
al-Qaida. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/755157.asp
Text of the U.S.-Russia Treaty on Nuclear Arms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3360-2002May24.html
Predator or Acquaintance?...An early examination of Chandra Levy's remains shows a
damaged skull; police believe she may have known killer (Newsweek)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/756424.asp
WTTG Fox 5 News, citing law enforcement sources, said last night that evidence at the
scene indicated Levy may have been tied up, a report that an angry Gainer would not
confirm or deny..."If it is true, the individual who released it should be shot or put
in jail," he said. "That type of specificity should never be discussed. That type of
specificity could limit our possibility of solving this case and have a negative
impact on the prosecution. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1464-2002May23.html
Condit lies low after Levy discovery...Rep. Gary A. Condit has avoided reporters since
the skeletal remains of former federal intern Chandra Levy were discovered Wednesday
in Rock Creek Park. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020524-600907.htm
Z. Hallow: White House starts to get some friendly fire...Some Republicans are
criticizing White House efforts to deflect questions about the Bush administration's
response to terrorist threats before September 11.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020524-58959447.htm
"The White House's top economic advisers discussed extensively last fall whether the
collapse of energy giant Enron would create turmoil in financial markets and warrant
intervention by the Treasury Department." (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20020524-80855159.htm
Under the Dome: Edwards aide gets party job...A Democratic activist loyal to U.S. Sen.
John Edwards has landed a job with the Iowa Democratic Party.
http://www.news-observer.com/front/story/1406101p-1440192c.html
Richard L. Berke, the national political correspondent of The New York Times for the
last nine years, has been appointed the newspaper's Washington editor, the No. 2
executive in a bureau with more than 50 reporters and editors. (The New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/24/politics/24APPO.html?ex=1022904000&en=34495f71b6cca036&ei=5006&partner=ALTAVISTA
opinion/editorial
The Wall Street Journal: Memorial Day After September 11...This year we'll remember
more than just the military dead.
http://opinionjournal.com/columnists/dhenninger/?id=110001756
How many 'outs' in baseball?...When will one of baseball's macho idols 'come out' and
declare he's gay? It will happen. It's only a matter of time, writes Bill Konigsberg,
former editor at ESPN.com.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/756580.asp
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