Plame Game Speculation

Judith Miller's testimony to the grand jury is secret, and she so far hasn't been willing to reveal what she told them, so there hasn't been much to report on whatever new details have developed. Therefore, we get more analysis, instead. Here's what The Washington Post had to say this morning:

What remains a central mystery in the case is whether special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has accumulated evidence during his two-year investigation that any crime was committed. His investigation has White House aides and congressional Republicans on edge as they await Fitzgerald's announcement of an indictment or the conclusion of the probe with no charges. The grand jury is scheduled to expire Oct. 28, and lawyers in the case expect Fitzgerald to signal his intentions as early as this week.

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Many lawyers in the case have been skeptical that Fitzgerald has the evidence to prove a violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, which is the complicated crime he first set out to investigate, and which requires showing that government officials knew an operative had covert status and intentionally leaked the operative's identity.

But a new theory about Fitzgerald's aim has emerged in recent weeks from two lawyers who have had extensive conversations with the prosecutor while representing witnesses in the case. They surmise that Fitzgerald is considering whether he can bring charges of a criminal conspiracy perpetrated by a group of senior Bush administration officials. Under this legal tactic, Fitzgerald would attempt to establish that at least two or more officials agreed to take affirmative steps to discredit and retaliate against Wilson and leak sensitive government information about his wife. To prove a criminal conspiracy, the actions need not have been criminal, but conspirators must have had a criminal purpose.

As we always hear, "It's not the crime, it's the coverup."

And speaking of coverups, George Stephanopoulos mentioned a little something this morning on his Sunday blabfest:

Definitely a political problem but I wonder, George Will, do you think it’s a manageable one for the White House especially if we don’t know whether Fitzgerald is going to write a report or have indictments but if he is able to show as a source close to this told me this week, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were actually involved in some of these discussions.

If he's really got something substantial, it seems odd for George to just sort of drop it into the conversation like that. But if he doesn't, it's even weirder for him to mention it at all. I didn't see the show this morning, and unfortunately, no one has mentioned what George Will offered in response. As usual, Crooks and Liars has the video.