"I've been to Sudan. And I was in Khartoum and met with some of the higher-ranking people with the Sudanese government. They told me personally – I had heard that before – that they actually offered [him] up to the Clinton administration – that is, Osama bin Laden – if they wanted him."

In its final report released Thursday, the 9/11 Commission said there was "no credible evidence" that the Sudanese offer had ever taken place – explaining that ex-President Clinton had "misspoken" when he described the offer in detail during a February 2002 speech.

But Sen. Shelby said Sudanese officials not only were prepared to arrest bin Laden, they were willing to "assassinate" him if necessary.

"They thought it might be deemed an assassination if he resisted," Shelby said.

"I think that would have been the right thing to do," he added. "We now know it would have been the right thing to do. If he's offered up, take him, because a year later, a year or so later, they blew two of our embassies up."

Shelby's revelation drew little reaction from the MSNBC host, who quickly changed the subject to the presidential campaign.

Editor's note: