Wesley Clark is going to endorse John Kerry. So maybe there is less to the Kerry rumors than Drudge reported. (See post below this one.)

Update: 2/16/04, The rumor is false.

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Original Post

Ok, the source is Drudge, but since three reporters have credited an off the record comment by Gen. Clark saying Kerry's campaign would implode over an intern issue, we're reporting it. We caution, however, that just because it's going to be talked about doesn't make it true.

We also note that the report says that the intern issue is the reason Dean is staying in the race. If Kerry does implode, then Dean likely is back in the race, which makes our post yesterday saying it's over for Dean and he should get out, no longer true. Although, we think any decline by Kerry will give a greater bump to Edwards than Dean.

Here's Drudge:

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU FEB 12, 2004 11:45:28 ET XXXXX

CAMPAIGN DRAMA ROCKS DEMOCRATS: KERRY FIGHTS OFF MEDIA PROBE OF RECENT ALLEGED INFIDELITY, RIVALS PREDICT RUIN

World Exclusive Must Credit the DRUDGE REPORT

A frantic behind-the-scenes drama is unfolding around Sen. John Kerry and his quest to lockup the Democratic nomination for president, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal. Intrigue surrounds a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

A serious investigation of the woman and the nature of her relationship with Sen. John Kerry has been underway at TIME magazine, ABC NEWS, the WASHINGTON POST, THE HILL and the ASSOCIATED PRESS, where the woman in question once worked. A close friend of the woman first approached a reporter late last year claiming fantastic stories -- stories that now threaten to turn the race for the presidency on its head!

In an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, General Wesley Clark plainly stated: "Kerry will implode over an intern issue." [Three reporters in attendance confirm Clark made the startling comments.]

The Kerry commotion is why Howard Dean has turned increasingly aggressive against Kerry in recent days, and is the key reason why Dean reversed his decision to drop out of the race after Wisconsin, top campaign sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

It's great when bloggers turn into journalists. The Bush military records flap has produced two first hand reports:

Oliver Willis located and interviewed Bush's "flight buddy" Bill Campenni:

I got in contact with Bill Campenni, known as the witness (possibly) to George W Bush's missing year. I asked him why he chose just now to finally come forth with his story and his reply was that "The stupidity reached a critical mass". He also says that he doesn't know why it's been so difficult for the national media to get in contact with him to verify his story (honestly, it was pretty easy to track him down), though he believes that stupidity has something to do with it.

When I asked him about being stationed in Pittsburgh, not Alabama and the fact that his story leads one to believe he was in grad school from '71-72 (the same years as the hole in Bush's record) and thus incapable of vouching for where the president was, his reply? An evasive "Nice Try".

Kevin Drum of Calpundit tracked down Bill Burkett and had a two hour conversation with him.

Basically, he confirmed his account and answered several of my questions about it. He says he accidentally overheard the conversation in General James' office about cleaning up George Bush's National Guard record and then discussed it with a friend who subsequently led him to the building where he saw 30 or 40 Bush documents lying in a trash can. He agrees that his "clarification" in 2000 went too far and says that he got scared by all the attention and backed off more than he should have. And he's quite frank about his run-ins with Dan Bartlett and the medical problems that he blames on retaliation by Bush's staff.

Kevin will be writing more tomorrow after he recovers from his cortisone shot, something we definitely can identify with--we hope it's not from overusing the computer.

We've only done one interview for TalkLeft--it was of Gary Hart, while he was considering running for President--you can read it The National Journal's rendition of it here.

It's a lot harder to interview a person than it is to be interviewed. We've been interviewed by journalists seeking legal analysis for the past 8 years on various topics, so we know first-hand how much tougher their job is. We'd be glad to try a stint at being an interviewer for a major publication, but, on the other hand, we're not sitting home scheming on how to make that happen.

All the more reason praise is due to Oliver and Kevin, who took it upon themselves to track down an interviewee, convince him to speak with them, and end up with a finished product we can all read about.

In our book, Oliver and Kevin have been raised to "way cool".

John Kerry has a corps of volunteer lawyers from prestigious D.C. law firms acting as a shadow Justice Department, helping him shape policy positions on justice issues.

The group, headed by Nicholas Gess, of counsel at the D.C. office of Bingham McCutchen, is one of several clusters of well-connected lawyers and policy experts, many of them Clinton administration veterans, relied on by Kerry to brainstorm key issues. ....All of them report to Sarah Bianchi, the campaign's policy director and a former domestic policy adviser to former Vice President Al Gore.

Among the questions before it: How would a Kerry administration handle criminal sentencing? What kind of federal judges would it appoint? How would it strike the balance between civil liberties and national security? What stance would it take on gay marriage and civil unions?

The group includes plenty of Washington insiders who helped run the DOJ the last time the Democrats were in power. And often, when a new president is making key appointments, he looks to people who have helped him in the campaign.

Actually, there are lawyers in all fields helping out the Kerry campaign:

Other groups, larded with lawyers from the D.C. offices of such firms as Arnold & Porter; Latham & Watkins; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, focus on issues like economics or foreign policy.

Then there's the lawyer-helpers on trade, regulatory, environmental, foreign policy and national security issues. Take the national security team--it set up a mini-National Security Council:

"We have a weekly conference call, write position papers, and do opposition research on the Bush administration."

We haven't heard of any other candidate having such a broad base of policy experts. And, of course, there's a reason for it--employment opportunities in the new Kerry Administration. As one lawyer, Jeffrey Liss, says, he's been running something of a Kerry job referral service lately:

Lately I've had a bunch of people, former Clinton administration types, approach me and say, 'Can you plug me in?' Liss says. "That happens all the time in D.C., and I've done that for them. But the pace of it has certainly picked up in the past several weeks."

Several newspapers have called for Justice Scalia to step down from the case pending in the Supreme Court involving Vice President Cheney:

The Houston Chronicle says Scalia's impartiality is highly questionable.

The San Antonio Express News says hunters Scalia and Cheney are still in a blind.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer says Scalia should recuse himself.

The Sierra Club may make a formal recusal request of Scalia.

Writer Peggy Hirsch explores the issue for TomPaine.com in Duckgate.

As for Scalia, he's still defending his hunting trip with the Vice-President and saying there's no need for his recusal.

Remember CAPPS II? A new report is slamming the program.

CAPPS II would divide passengers into three categories: green, screened normally at the gate; yellow, given extra screening; and red. TSA officials say passengers given a red rating will be forbidden to fly and will be questioned at the airport by law enforcement officials.

...CAPPS II is supposed to compare personal data about passengers collected by airlines -- name, address, date of birth and telephone number -- with commercial databases held by marketing companies and others.

Mathematical formulas called algorithms would be used to combine and cross check all kinds of information about every passenger -- how long they have lived at their address, for example -- but also intelligence held by U.S. agencies about individuals and groups. The program then comes up with a threat score -- a bit like a credit rating -- for each traveler.

The program has been blasted by civil libertarians:

Critics contended that it would violate travelers' privacy and Fourth Amendment rights; brand some citizens terror suspects on the basis of potentially inaccurate data that they cannot challenge; and was being expanded for use against all kind of law-breakers and suspects, not just terrorists.

The report says the program flunked a series of tests:

Concerned lawmakers set a series of eight tests -- enacted into law in several funding bills -- that the system had to pass before money could be released to fund its implementation. The tests included establishing a process for correcting erroneous information and restoring the right of wrongly labeled innocent passengers to travel by air; assuring the security of the system from hackers and internal abuse; addressing privacy concerns; and -- crucially -- providing evidence that the screening will actually turn up potential terrorists.

The summary says the Transportation Security Administration failed on all these counts.....

Update: The Chicago Tribune has more on the report.

Guantanamo is expanding. Plans are being made to house up to 50,000 Haitian refugees at the military base--the refugees will be detained until they can be sent back to Haiti.

[comments now closed]

There are 97 inmates on death row in Tennessee. 38 of them were convicted in trials in Shelby County. The medical examiner in Shelby County is O.C. Smith, who has recently been charged with a rather bizarre crime.

O.C. Smith pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he lied when he said an unknown assailant wrapped him in barbed wire and hung a bomb around his neck. He also pleaded not guilty to possessing an illegal explosive.

Authorities have given no indication why Smith, 51, would have staged an attack. He was discovered in June 2002 in a stairwell outside his office. He suffered minor injuries, and told authorities he was attacked by someone who threw a chemical in his face.

....Smith "either did the autopsies, or testified, or at least supervised the autopsies" in 30 percent to 40 percent of the convictions of the state's death row inmates, Dawson said.

The Governor of Tennessee has postponed one execution to date due to the investigation into Mr. Smith's conduct.

Detained "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla, who has been held in a military brig for almost two years without charges or access to counsel, finally will be allowed to meet with his lawyer. From the DOD press release :

DoD is allowing Padilla access to counsel as a matter of discretion and military authority. Such access is not required by domestic or international law and should not be treated as a precedent. A similar decision to allow Yaser Esam Hamdi access to a lawyer was announced Dec. 2, 2003.

DoD has determined that such access will not compromise the national security of the United States, and DoD has determined that such access will not interfere with intelligence collection from Padilla, who is a U.S. citizen.

As a U.S. citizen, Padilla is not eligible for trial by military commission under the president’s military order of Nov. 13, 2001. Detention as an enemy combatant is not criminal in nature but is permitted under the law of war to prevent an enemy combatant from continuing to fight against the United States. Under the law of war, enemy combatants may be detained until the end of hostilities.

What kind of restrictions will be placed on Padilla's lawyer? Here's what Frank Dunham, the attorney for Yaser Hamdi, had to say after finally being allowed ot visit his client a few weeks ago:

Frank Dunham, Hamdi's lawyer, said Wednesday that he met with his client for about an hour but the government restrictions were prohibitive. Dunham said he wasn't permitted to ask Hamdi about the conditions of his confinement for the last two years. A Defense Department official sat in on the conversation, which was videotaped and monitored by intelligence officials.

"We didn't talk about anything that amounted to a hill of beans because what lawyer would want to ask his client any substantive question with the government sitting there watching?" he said.

Update: Arthur at Light of Reason has more, including the reaction of Padilla's lawyers:

It's so disheartening. They're throwing us a bone, as if we should be thrilled that they can now listen to our attorney-client conversations after my client's been held incommunicado, based on their say-so, for over a year and a half."

President Bush's military records are creating such a stir, we thought we'd try and find a concise summary of what happened and what the issue is. MSNBC has this version:

George W. Bush was sworn into the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War. He went through all of the basic and advanced flight training and received a commission as a second lieutenant. He then went about his business as a private citizen attending monthly and any other special "camps" for training.

In 1972, then-citizen Bush got a job working on a U.S. Senate campaign in Alabama and he looked into attending Guard meetings with a unit in Montgomery, Ala. A Lt. Colonel Lott sent Bush a letter informing him when the meetings were scheduled for the Alabama unit in October and November.

The controversy: Was Bush was absent without leave or AWOL from the Alabama Air National Guard during those 2 months in 1972?

If Bush attended a meeting in Alabama, the paymaster there would have noted it and sent the information onto Texas on an "IBM 105" card where it would be recorded and sent onto payroll in Colorado. Bush has released payroll records showing he received credit for attending meetings during the 2 months in 1972. But, they don't show where he attended meetings. He was living in Alabama at the time, but there are no Alabama records to show he attended meetings there.

Here's the timeline, from the same article:

It's time for Howard Dean to pick up his marbles and go home. The last thing that's going to help him get back in the presidential race is an attack on John Kerry and in what must be a last, desperate move, that's just what he's doing, charging that Kerry is part of "the corrupt political culture in Washington."

We don't pretend to know why Dean bombed in Iowa or why the media attacked him afterwards, but the fact is, he's been out of it ever since. If he wants to stay in national politics, he'd do much better to get behind whomever the Dems choose and campaign like crazy for the candidate to beat Bush.

We're starting to feel sorry for Dean. It's so over and he just won't admit it.

One of the detainees at Guantanamo worked as a driver on a farm owned by Osama bin Laden. He has been appointed a military lawyer who says the facts will be on his side during an anticipated military tribunal tiral.

Salim Ahmed Salim Hamdan, 34, is now held in isolation at the terrorism prison in Cuba in segregated accommodations for prisoners facing possible military tribunals, said his lawyer, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift. ''He fully admits that he was an employee of Osama bin Laden'' from 1997 until the U.S. attack on Afghanistan in 2001. ``But he adamantly denies that he was ever a member of al Qaeda or engaged in any terrorist attack. He worked for Osama bin Laden solely for the purpose of supporting himself and his family.''

....Starting in 1997, Hamdan worked for bin Laden on his farm in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, Swift said, and drove a Toyota pickup truck. He sometimes ferried farm workers to the fields and sometimes transported around Afghanistan the al Qaeda mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hamdan first went to Afghanistan in 1996, the lawyer said, intending to travel to Tajikistan to join Muslims there fighting former Soviet communists. He never made the trip but found the job with bin Laden that paid $200 a month, a huge sum for a poor Yemeni in impoverished Afghanistan.

''In respect to the prospect of a trial by military commission, he denies that he's a terrorist, al Qaeda or a combatant in the international conflict in Afghanistan. He is a civilian worker who was caught up in the war,'' Swift said.

At the time of his capture, he was alone and driving a borrowed car in a mountainous portion of eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan. He had just evacuated his pregnant wife and daughter to the safety of Pakistan, the lawyer said, and was returning the car.

Hamdan has a fourth grade education. Swift also described the conditions of his client's confinement:

He has been held in solitary confinement, segregated from the other Camp Delta prisoners in a windowless air-conditioned cell and permitted exercise only at night, ``so he never sees the sun.'' He suffers from arthritis, Swift said, which is aggravated by the prison's air conditioning. ''He gets cold, ironic in Cuba,'' he said.

Gee, we feel a lot safer knowing the Pentagon is going after the big guys. Hamdan sounds like a real threat.