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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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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
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