George Clooney has just signed on to star and produce another political drama. It’s tentative title is The Challenge, and the script will be penned by Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the first three seasons of “The West Wing”, and most recently, the excellent Charlie Wilson’s War.

The Challenge will tell the true story of the Supreme Court case Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld, a case which fundamentally changed the Bush Administration’s policies on habeas corpus, torture and Guantanamo. Clooney is looking to play Charles Swift, the JAG lawyer who headed up the team of lawyers defending Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan, who was one of the first people imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. Hamdan was released to his family in December, 2008, after years of legal battles but is still technically considered an “enemy combatant” by the US.

George Clooney will be producing a new courtroom drama through his Smoke House company, and has tapped scribe Aaron Sorkin to write the screenplay.

“The Challenge” may be a possible acting vehicle for Clooney as Navy lawyer Charles Swift in the drama that will look at the trial of Osama Bin Laden’s driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan.

The film will be based on Jonathan Mahler’s tome “The Challenge: Hamdan cs. Rumsfeld and the Fight Over Presidential Power.” Clooney will be produced with his Smoke House partner Grant Heslov.

Sorkin has already proven he can lead a marine court-martial drama. He was behind the 1989 play “A Few Good Men” and its 1992 film.

From AHN

I realize this a celebrity gossip site, but the inside story of this court case is really fascinating, and it’s something I’ve been following for a while. Vanity Fair has had some of the most interesting, in-depth coverage of the Hamdan case, the verdict and the consequences. Swift is a really incredible person, a Naval officer and a patriot who defends every single person’s civil liberties with his life. Throughout the five-year legal battle, Swift gathered resources from the ACLU and the cream of the crop at Georgetown Law, many of whom worked pro bono with JAG. Vanity Fair even interviewed Charles Swift throughout the court case, in a piece that was published in 2007. It was a startling piece that’s a must read. I’m thrilled that Clooney will be making the film, and I hope it gets done soon.

George Clooney is shown in a promotional image for Burn After Reading. George Swift is shown testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld Supreme Court ruling on 7/11/06. Credit: Newscom/UPI. Here are some more photos of Swift testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on 9/25/06 on behalf of affording detainees the writ of habeas corpus.