A political nuclear bomb, if true.

Clinton Curtis, a Florida computer programmer and life-long Republican, has filed an affidavit accusing a prominent Florida Republican (Tom Feeney, now a member of U.S. Congress) of trying to hire him to write a software program that would allow Republicans to "switch" votes on electronic voting machines.

The story is a long way from being verified, but it's getting legs as they say. It has already moved beyond its basement origins to a House Judiciary Committee.

Two events are enough to convince me this has truth to it. One, no one was allowed to see the source code before being put in the machines (this was reported back in June). Two, all those "extra" votes in Ohio, particularly Cleveland. And a third will be if Ohio's Blackwell refuses to allow the voting machines to be cracked open. That'll be proof they're hiding something.

The original source for this story is Brad Friedmann at BradBlog.com. The BradBlog coverage was broken up into two sites because of heavy traffic. It starts here, and continues here.

Another reporter, Wayne Madsen, posted a slightly more conspiratorial version here, but it goes further than Curtis's affidavit alleges. Better to skip it until last. Instead, pick up the coverage at BlackBoxVoting.org, where well-known Bev Harris (who is hard at work in Ohio and elsewhere digging up the facts about voting irregularities) considers the details of the affidavit. (Note: Harris originally responded to Madsen's version as if it were Friedmann's, but has corrected her mistake on the website. She added a disclaimer saying Madsen's is "disinformation" and praises Friedmann's story.)

More excellent coverage, particularly from the programming angle, can be found here and here. The good thing about blog-type websites is that respondents often add valuable information and links (unfortunately amid a morass of inane blatherings...).

Curtis adds to his affidavit with comments on this web page. It begins with specifics about the affidavit, but then wanders into general political commentary. He includes a replica of the software prototype he created.