Just a Theory

No, this isn't a post about the ridiculous editorial penned by Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna (here's the accompanying Times article)--instead, I'm noting a Cockburn/St. Clair piece about Judith "Jailbird" Miller. Citing the Washington Post (alas, not linking to the article, though), they speculate on just how Karl Rove might've come across the information he considered appropriate to screw Joe Wilson (and, um, the country) with:

There are curious questions hanging over Miller's determined march towards her prison cell, not far from that of Moussaoui, who is probably offering her free legal advice on the prison grapevine.

Miller never actually wrote a story in the New York Times about Plame being in the CIA. So why has Fitzgerald been so eager to have her testify? The answer may lie in a paragraph buried in the Washington Post, reading as follows: "Sources close to the investigation say there is evidence in some instances that some reporters may have told government officials ­ not the other way around ­ that Wilson was married to Plame, a CIA employee."

We could conjecture that when Fitzgerald interviewed White House political adviser Karl Rove and Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, one or other or both had said that they learned Plame was married to Wilson and in the CIA from Miller, who ­ again this is surmise ­ might well have learned this from one of her other sources, whether Perle or Chalabi or someone else in the intelligence world.

After all, this is Miller's style of reporting. Learn something (entirely false in the case of the WMDs) from one source, then bounce it off another, and then put together a story citing two sources. In the case of the WMDs, Chalabi would give her a "defector" who would duly impart his fantasies about Saddam's arsenal. She would relay the defector's story to "a high intelligence source" who would confirm it.

Note: if you've heard this already, my apologies--I'm still catching up over here.

Now, this is only a theory, with no proof to back it up...still, while I'm inclined to take a hard gulp and support Miller's right to protect a confidential source, I'll make note of Cockburn/St. Clair's observation that Judith's time in the clink will likely pay off handsomely--an investment that can be cashed out in lecture fees, book contracts, and whatnot. Perhaps it isn't the easiest way to earn a living--but it sure beats falling victim to violence, say, in Iraq--a war for which Ms. Miller was a leading salesperson.

And, quite possibly, the source for Karl Rove, who, whether or not he is indicted, managed to screw himself pretty badly...you could maybe even say screwed like no one has screwed himself before.