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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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In an awful irony, could convicted terrorists go free because of legal
questions over how they were charged? Could the president be sued by terrorists
who sought to attack Americans?
The fallout from the revelation of secret domestic surveillance by the NSA
takes another twist today as lawyers for defendants in terror cases let it be
known that they plan to challenge any potentially illegal wiretaps that led to
charges against their clients. Here's today's New York Times story by Eric
Lichtblau and James Risen outlining it all:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/28/politics/28legal.html.
On Hardball tonight, Norah O'Donnell, MSNBC's chief Washington correspondent
who is sitting in for Chris, will get the latest on that from NBC News' Justice
Correspondent Pete Williams. She also will talk with attorney Edward MacMahon,
who represents Ali al-Timimi, a Muslim scholar currently serving a life
sentence for calling for war against the U.S. overseas, and attorney John
Zwerling, who represents Seifullah Chapman, one of al-Timimi's followers
currently serving a 65-year sentence in federal prison.
For more on the impact this all has on the Bush Administration's
counterterrorism efforts, Norah will be joined by Ron Christie, former advisor
to both President Bush and Vice President Cheney, and Rand Beers, former
National Security Council senior director for combating terrorism under
President Bush and former national security advisor to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)'s
presidential campaign.
Gary Berntsen, former CIA field officer and author of "Jawbreaker: The Attack
on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field
Commander," will also be here to discuss the still ongoing hunt for Osama bin
Laden. Find out why Berntsen says the government missed its chance to get the
Al-Qaeda leader!
Plus, Nick Calio, former legislative advisor to President Bush, and MSNBC
political analyst Ron Reagan will be here to talk about the political fallout
from the NSA story and the various investigations around the capital -- from
Abramoff to the (still pending) CIA leak probe.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--AP reports dozens have been charged in a Red Cross hurricane recovery scam
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10624175/
--Reuters reads up on what the president is reading
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10619528/
--Hardblogger Hill Insider Craig Crawford sees a "Jack Bauer" president
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10284912/#051227a
--Newsweek picks the best political cartoons of 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032542/site/newsweek/?rf=autorefresh
--MSNBC brings brief bios on the players involved in the Abramoff inquiry
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562787/
--AP reports that Enron's former top accountant cut a deal with prosecutors
today http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10620117/
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
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