Bill Nelson to view Osama bin Laden photos; Marco Rubio declines

Lesley Clark, our national correspondent in Washington, just blogged this on Naked Politics at MiamiHerald.com:

The Obama administration has offered the opportunity to see the post mortem photos of Osama bin Laden to a select group of Senate and House members, including those on Armed Services or Intelligence committees.

A spokesman for Florida Sen. Bill Nelson said he was invited as a member of the Intelligence Committee and will view the photos Thursday. The photos are only available for viewing by appointment at Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Virginia.

Nelson had supported the president's decision to not release the pictures publicly, but has suggested that they be released at a later date when the commander in chief decides there's no terrorism risk.

Fellow Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on CBS today said he hasn't seen the pictures and isn't sure he needs to.

"I can tell you that I know that Osama bin Laden is dead," said Rubio, who is also on Senate Intelligence. "Al-Qaeda has admitted it. If Bin laden's not dead, why doesn't he produce a new video proving that he's not dead? We need to move beyond that right now."