------------------------------------------------------
The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
------------------------------------------------------
"The president does not know him, nor does the president recall ever meeting
him," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan in today's press briefing when
asked about the president's familiarity with ex-superlobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The president isn't the only one putting clear distance between himself and
Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in Miami today to charges of conspiracy and wire
fraud related to his purchase of a Florida-based gambling boat fleet in 2000.
On the heels of Abramoff's guilty pleas Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to charges
of conspiracy, tax evasion, and mail fraud, more and more politicians are
diverting Abramoff-tainted money to charities.
Here's the AP's report on Abramoff's court appearance today:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10706220/.
Tonight, Hardball's David Shuster will recap what happened in Abramoff's case
today and what it means for the larger federal probe into possible
congressional corruption. The NBC News Investigative Unit interviewed Jack
Abramoff exclusively on Nov. 24, 2004, and you'll see clips of that on Hardball
tonight! Plus, Chris will talk with the Washington Post's Susan Schmidt and NBC
News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell about what it all
means and what could come next. In case you missed it, Schmidt had a report in
today's edition of the Post on Abramoff's latest deals:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010300474.html.
We'll also have an update on the tragic deaths of a dozen miners in West
Virginia. NBC News' Bob Hager will talk with Chris about the investigation into
what went wrong.
Plus, attorneys Ben Ginsberg and Richard Ben-Veniste will be here to talk about
the tentacles of the Abramoff scandal as well as the ongoing debate over the
president's authorization of a secret domestic spying program by the National
Security Agency.
Byron York, White House correspondent for the National Review, and Katrina
vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, will also be here to discuss the NSA
debate. Check out this report in today's New York Times about additional
post-9/11 spying by the NSA:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/politics/04nsa.html.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--AP reports Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has had a significant stroke
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10709976/
--AP reports on the president's Pentagon visit today
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10705519/
--Newsweek has a comprehensive file on Abramoff
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10709115/site/newsweek/
--Slate's John Dickerson on the "Jack Attack"
http://www.slate.com/id/2133666/nav/tap1/
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
=========================================
This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. You have received this The Hardball
Briefing Newsletter 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.msn.com/id/7140407/, select unsubscribe, enter the email
address receiving this message, and click the Go button.
Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052
MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT
http://privacy.msn.com <http://privacy.msn.com/>
