Weekend Plame News

There was some breaking and not so breaking news on the Plame outing over the weekend. First the breaking news; Murry Waas at the American Prospect reports that

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, has told federal investigators that he met with New York Times reporter Judith Miller on July 8, 2003, and discussed CIA operative Valerie Plame, according to legal sources familiar with Libby's account.

The meeting between Libby and Miller has been a central focus of the investigation by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald as to whether any Bush administration official broke the law by unmasking Plame's identity or relied on classified information to discredit former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, according to sources close to the case as well as documents filed in federal court by Fitzgerald.

The meeting took place in Washington, D.C., six days before columnist Robert Novak wrote his now-infamous column unmasking Plame as a "CIA operative." Although little noticed at the time, Novak's column would cause the appointment of a special prosecutor, ultimately place in potential legal jeopardy senior advisers to the president of the United States, and lead to the jailing of a New York Times reporter.

This would indicate that Judith Miller is sitting in the slammer to protect Dick Cheney's number one guy. It disgusts and amazes me that the New York Times and journalists in general can continue to support Judith the neocon propaganda queen. It's not any different than Republicans supporting Bush because he's a registered Republican. If it turns out this is hurting Fitzgerald's investigation I will never read the New York Times again and I would hope others would join me.

The not so breaking news is what Steve Soto broke last weekend, that Bush's Skull and Bones buddy Robert McCallum will be Fitzgerald's new boss.

One question: how much authority Comey's successor will have over Fitzgerald. When Comey appointed Fitzgerald in 2003, the deputy granted him extraordinary powers to act however he saw fit--but noted he still had the right to revoke Fitzgerald's authority. The questions are pertinent because lawyers close to the case believe the probe is in its final stages.

So, it would appear that McCallum has the ability to shut Fitzgerald down any time he likes.

With his approval ratings at an all time low and with a majority of Americans thinking the Plame affair is a serious matter this puts Bush between a rock and a hard place. If Rove and Libby are implicated or even indicted there would be serious political repercussions. But the repercussions would be as, if not more, serious for the Republicans should they pull the plug on Fitzgerald.