In Search Of Utopia: Will Scooter get the Boot?

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September 30, 2005

Will Scooter get the Boot?

That is what we all want to know now that this news is out:

(CNN) -- After spending 12 weeks in jail for refusing to name a source, The New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified Friday before a federal grand jury looking into a CIA leak case after her source gave her permission.
Miller appeared before the grand jury after her attorneys reached an agreement with prosecutors on the scope of her testimony, "which satisfied my obligation as a reporter to keep faith with my sources," she said in a statement.

"It's good to be free," Miller said after her release Thursday. "I am leaving jail today because my source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations."

She did not identify the source.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, called Miller in prison September 19 to personally free her from the pledge of confidentiality, a move that apparently contributed to her release, Libby's attorney, Joseph Tate of Philadelphia, told CNN.

New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said the newspaper supported Miller's decision to testify.

It will be interesting to see if Bush now honors his pledge to fire anyone responsible for this leak, AND perhaps more importantly, if there are prosecutions in the case.

The other question that will be asked is what Cheney knew about the leak, especially in light of accusations that Cheney pressured the CIA to provide WMD evidence to justify the Iraq War. This is another stinker...

In the meantime, I am sure Miller will get a nice fat book deal out of it...

Posted by David A at September 30, 2005 08:45 AM
Filed Under Plame Leak | 272 Words

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Tracked on September 30, 2005 10:37 AM

Comments

What fascinates me are the details -- the agreement for her release apparently requires her to answer any and all questions regarding her contacts with Libby, but the prosecutors are not allowed to ask her about any other potential sources. And since Libby's waiver has been on record for some time, that implies that the "other sources" was the sticking point.

To my politically-minded brain, that says that Libby is going to be tossed to the wolves to protect another source -- one Miller has been willing to spend 12 weeks in jail to protect.

But what do I know? I still don't understand why Miller, who never published word one about Plame, got hauled in, while Novak's been given a bye on the whole thing that HE started. So much for the "best evidence" principle...

Posted by: Jay Tea at October 1, 2005 01:13 PM

I really do think in light of Libby's recent contact with Miller, likely he told her what to say, and that he's been picked to fall on his sword to save the rest.

Posted by: N. Mallory at October 1, 2005 02:59 PM