Dick Cheney, Man of Mystery

We got a little bit of information about how Dick Cheney figures into the Fitzgerald investigation was released today, which in turn led to an awful lot of speculation. Cheney, or his office, anyway, now appears to be one focus of the investigation, but we don't know precisely what that means. The New York Daily News had a pretty impressive charge today: "Cheney's name has come up amid indications Fitzgerald may be edging closer to a blockbuster conspiracy charge - with help from a secret snitch." Josh Marshall and Raw Story each say it's John Hannah, who Raw Story identified as a senior national security aide on loan to Vice President Dick Cheney from the offices of then-Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, John Bolton. In expanding on Fitzgerald's interest in Cheney, The Washington Post wrote:

In the course of the investigation, Fitzgerald has been exposed to the intense, behind-the-scenes fight between Cheney's office and the CIA over prewar intelligence and the vice president's central role in compiling and then defending the intelligence used to justify the war.

Although there was some buzz that indictments (if they come at all, which isn't definite at this point) could come as early as tomorrow, The New York Times reports in Wednesday's edition that, at least according to unnamed government officials, no indictments are expected this week. Fitzgerald was also reported to have decided against releasing a final report on his investigation, which means indictments or nothing. It seems to me that he's gone to an awful lot of trouble to come up with nothing at the end, but I guess we'll all just wait and see.