WASHINGTON INSIGHT

SHOCK WAVES: A year after the bombing at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, the unsolved crime is still reverberating at the Justice Department. In the latest fallout, the department’s chief internal watchdog, Michael E. Shaheen Jr., said in Senate testimony Monday that former suspect Richard Jewell’s constitutional rights were violated when FBI agents said they were reading him his Miranda rights primarily for use in a training videotape. That drew sharp criticism from Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who challenged Shaheen to find that conclusion in his report on the incident. This was complicated by the fact that Shaheen was reading from a full report and Specter from a summary, and Specter reacted by accusing the veteran investigator of being neither “candid” nor “forthright.” Within hours, Shaheen told Specter his testimony was incorrect and he “misspoke” because his office’s report had not made a final determination on the matter. The unusual exchange is likely to add fuel to an already-rekindled fire over a bid by the Justice Department’s inspector general to take jurisdiction over the FBI away from Shaheen.

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WEEKEND WARRIOR? The Pentagon is preparing to do battle with Congress over a proposal to make the head of the National Guard a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The politically timed measure, co-sponsored by more than two dozen lawmakers, was added to the Senate version of the defense-authorization bill earlier this month, despite vigorous opposition from Defense Secretary William S. Cohen and the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The bill, passed by the House, contains no such provision, so a House-Senate conference committee will have to resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, Washington wags have come up with a possible compromise: Put the head of the National Guard on the Joint Chiefs but have him serve only on weekends and for two weeks every summer.

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BACK TO THE FUTURE? Ohio Sen. John Glenn’s aggressive posture in Senate campaign fund-raising hearings is raising almost as many questions as eyebrows. Observers wonder why the veteran Democrat is showing such uncharacteristic partisanship, particularly since he has already announced his retirement. One theory advanced by resentful Republicans is that the former astronaut is trying to build White House support for the return trip to space for which he yearns. Glenn, who just turned 76, scoffs at that notion, insisting that he would become a celestial passenger again only to help advance scientific research into the similarities between age-induced physical changes and the physiological impact of space travel. Glenn says that when he mentioned that notion to President Clinton, “the president said he thought it was a good idea if the scientists think it’s a good idea.”

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GRAVEYARD SHIFT: On Capitol Hill, the late Rep. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) remains a beloved and legendary champion of America’s seniors. But few can match the reverence that Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) holds for Pepper. Graham has bought a cemetery plot in Tallahassee so he can rest next to Pepper--eternally. “We can talk Medicare for forever,” Graham jokes.

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ESPECIALLY WITH THE RIGHT CLOTHES: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), known both for his candor and droll sense of humor, did not disappoint when asked last week about his presidential ambitions. Before launching into the standard nondenial denials, he told reporters: “I’ve always thought that emperor was more attractive.”