<http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238>
The Fitzgerald investigation:
Judith Miller is out of jail due a deal she struck with her source, Scooter Libby, and prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald.
"Mr. Fitzgerald has said that obtaining Ms. Miller's testimony was one of the last remaining objectives of his inquiry, and the deal with her suggests that the prosecutor may soon end the long-running investigation. It is unknown whether prosecutors will charge anyone in the Bush administration with wrongdoing," write David Johnston and Douglas Jehl of the New York Times. LINK
More: "As part of the agreement, Mr. Bennett gave Mr. Fitzgerald edited versions of notes (sic) taken by Ms. Miller about her conversations with Mr. Libby."
The breathless Timesmen also have a description of the Miller/Libby July 2003 from the perspective of the Libby camp:
"According to someone who has been briefed on Mr. Libby's testimony and who believes that his statements show he did nothing wrong, Ms. Miller asked Mr. Libby during their conversations in July 2003 whether he knew Joseph C. Wilson IV, the former ambassador who wrote an Op-Ed article in The Times on July 6, 2003, criticizing the Bush administration. Ms. Miller's lawyers declined to discuss the conversations."
"Mr. Libby said that he did not know Mr. Wilson but that he had heard from the C.I.A. that the former ambassador's wife, an agency employee, might have had a role in arranging a trip that Mr. Wilson took to Africa on behalf of the agency to investigate reports of Iraq's efforts to obtain nuclear material. Mr. Wilson's wife is Ms. Wilson."
"Mr. Libby did not know her name or her position at the agency and therefore did not discuss these matters with Ms. Miller, the person who had been briefed on the matter said."
The Washington Post's Schmidt and VandeHei contrast Bill Keller's statement that Miller only recently was released from her obligation with an assertion from Libby's attorney, Joseph Tate, that he told Miller attorney Floyd Abrams a year ago that Libby's waiver was voluntary and that Miller was free to testify.
He said last night that he was contacted by Bennett several weeks ago, and was surprised to learn that Miller had not accepted that representation as authorization to speak with prosecutors. 'We told her lawyers it was not coerced,' Tate said. 'We are surprised to learn we had anything to do with her incarceration.'" LINK
If you are confused about the circumstances of Miller's release from jail yesterday, you are not alone.
While participating in a C-SPAN power house roundtable this morning with the Washington Post's Dan Balz and the Houston Chronicle's Cragg Hines, Time Magazine's Matthew Cooper was asked by Brian Lamb why Judy Miller went to jail.
"She didn't feel the same level of comfort from her sources that I did," Cooper said.
Cooper said he is hoping that the New York Times will have some "transparency" and explain "what changed."
I find it "quite confusing," he said.
We could write more here about our theories about Ms. Miller and related matters, but The Note would be 45 pages long if we did.
Miller's statement suggested she might have more to say after her grand jury appearance. What form that might take is anyone's guess. (Note to cable bookers: hold your fire.)