Update: Haha. According to Atrios, Fox jumped the gun and aired the video already. And for some bizarre reason the freepers think the scary Halloween terrorist is gay. WTF?

Halloween Terror

How likely is it do you suppose, that FOX will run with the American Al Qaeda boogeyman tape before the week-end is out?

Ross and other ABC staffers say they believe that a Bush administration official leaked the story to Internet gossip Matt Drudge as a way of pressuring the network into airing the tape, which would heighten concerns about terrorism in the final week of the president’s reelection campaign. They note that whoever gave the information to Drudge had a transcript of the tape.

[…]

The debate may not be over. The officials say a source with access to the tape, apparently impatient with ABC, has offered it to another broadcast news organization, which has called the government for guidance.

Drudge said yesterday that a political motivation behind the leak was “possible,” but put the onus on ABC. “They haven’t authenticated previous al Qaeda tapes before airing them,” he said. “Why are they waiting to authenticate this? It’s election week.”

But Isham noted that previous videotapes featured Osama bin Laden or other al Qaeda leaders who could be verified by sight.

“It’s either a well-done hoax or a tremendous news story,” Ross said. “We’re not going to get stampeded.”

I love the fact that Drudge is lecturing the network on journalistic practices.

And, there’s only one network that would “call the government for guidance.”

I’m thinking Sunday morning.