Rove, Rove, Rove your Boat

The plot thickens in the latest Washington drama. It's a bit of Greek theatre, and a lot of a Wahington novel of intrigue.

Last week the New York Times "reporter" Judith Miller, a well-documented apologist and mouthpiece for Bushcorp, went to jail for refusing to turn over notes to the federal prosecutor trying to find out who in the White House told the press that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent, and whether a crime was committed---either the crime of knowingly revealing the identity of a covert agent, or lying to a grand jury about it.

That was the Greek drama part. Everyone acted their role exactly as they should. The prosecutor prosecuted. The judge judged according to the law. The reporter nobly refused to give up her source. Her newspaper wrote a noble editorial about it.

Now comes the novel of intrigue. What did who know and when did they know it? And who knows what now?

All eyes (the one's that are watching that is) are on Karl Rove. Several reporters have publicly named him as the source for the Plame info, and the source for the Time Magazine reporter who had also been threatened with jail, until Time took his notes away from him so their stock wouldn't tumble, and his source gave him permission to name him.

(If you haven't read the earlier chapters, Plame was outed to try to discredit her husband, Joseph Wilson, who blew the whistle on Bushcorps phony assertion that Saddam was collecting the makings of nuclear weapons.)

There's still some key information missing. But if I were plotting this for a novel, I'd see the silence of J. Miller as the key.

If Rove started this whole thing off with Miller, or if in fact it was Miller who came up with the info on Plame, then Rove now knows what the prosecutor can prove, and he can play the legalisms. No, he didn't name her (just called her Wilson's wife.) No, he didn't know she was covert, just a CIA analyst.

What the recent relevations indicate is how closely key members of the press listen to Rove. He felt perfectly comfortable "advising" the Time reporter.

So now a key question is: If Miller doesn't have anything on Rove, why wouldn't he do for her what he did for the Time reporter, and give her permission to name him and turn over notes, so she could avoid jail?

As it is, Miller in jail is a winner for both Rove and Miller. Rove gets her silence, and she gets to be the hero and martyr of the fourth estate. So if Rove is confident that she won't talk, he can play it as it lays now.

Can't wait for the next chapter. Maybe a new character comes on the scene?

UPDATE : In court papers, the prosecutor reveals that Miller has received permission from her source to name this person, but she still refuses. Speculation now is that Miller has something to hide, and several stories (including one in the Washington Post) suggest the prosecutor is looking at the possibility of a journalist being indicted for revealing the covert agent's name.

Under repeated questioning at an afternoon press conference, White House press secretary refused to comment or answer any question about Rove's role, even refusing to repeat past statements that Rove is blameless, or that the President believes anyone leaking this information should be fired.