Plame Speculation: Bolton, Libby, and Silence on WMD’s

katerina

19 years ago

Now that Judith Miller has testified before the grand jury, you would think that many of the questions that have swirled around her martyr-like trip to the slammer would have been answered — especially by Judy herself. However, the NY Times and Judy remain mum.

Fortunately, though, for those of us held enthralled by this story, some interesting pieces of the Judy puzzle are beginning to become a little clearer, thanks in part to the acrimonious public battle between Libby’s lawyers and Miller’s lawyers over whether Judy ever really needed to go to jail in the first place.

And a couple of interesting snippets have left me speculating as to whether we finally know why Captain Mustache aka John Bolton visited our darling heroine in jail.
Here is a rough timeline of events:

July 6, 2005 — Judith Miller is jailed for contempt for refusing to testify before the Grand Jury about her conversations with I. Lewis Libby.

Date Unknown — Patrick Fitzgerald signals to the jailed Judith Miller that he means business

…special Justice Department prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald signaled he intended to reimpanel a new grand jury–a move that could have kept Miller in jail for another year and a half, say two lawyers close to the case who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks.

August 15, 2005 — It is first reported that John Bolton has visited Judith Miller in jail

Bolton’s visit raised some eyebrows in Washington. A vocal defender of administration claims in 2003 that Iraq was seeking weapons of mass destruction, he could have had access to a State Department memo, parts of which were classified, that detailed Wilson’s trip to Niger to determine whether Iraq was seeking uranium there and identified his wife as a covert CIA operative. Who saw or discussed the memo has been a central question for Fitzgerald.

Bolton declined through a spokesman to discuss his visit to Miller or his reasons for going. “This has nothing to do with his job here,” the spokesman said. “He doesn’t want to talk about it.”

August 31, 2005 — Miller lawyer, Robert Bennett, contacts Libby’s lawyer Joseph Tate about a new waiver of confidentiality

Bennett told TIME that the Miller camp had received an indication from a third party that it might be a good time to approach Libby with a new request to personally waive the confidentiality agreement.

September 19, 2005 — Miller finally talks to Libby by phone

That finally came on Sept. 19, in what participants described as an “awkward” four-way conference call that included Libby, Miller (patched in on a jailhouse phone) and their lawyers. “I’m sorry you’re in jail, Judy,” Libby said, according to an account provided by his lawyer, Joseph Tate. “I am, too. The food is not very good,” Miller replied. Libby then told Miller he wanted to “encourage” her to testify to “help both of us… get this matter behind us.”

September 29, 2005 — Judith Miller is released from jail after her lawyers reach an agreement with Fitzgerald and Libby

Negotiations with Fitzgerald were complicated, involving not only Miller’s testimony but her notes as well. The legal source told TIME that the prosecutor did not give the final O.K. for Miller’s release until after he received and reviewed the notes from one of two conversations with Libby in July 2003.

In his deal with Miller, the prosecutor agreed to limit the scope of her testimony before the grand jury, focusing only on the reporter’s conversations with sources about Plame, according to her lawyer Bennett. Miller wanted to rule out of bounds any questions about her reporting on WMD, a lawyer involved in the case told TIME.

September 30, 2005 — Judith Miller testifies before the Grand Jury.

So this is how this whole thing adds up to me. Judy Miller went to jail. She was going to be a good girl and keep her mouth shut about her conversations with Libby. Then Fitzgerald threatened her with extending the probe an additional 18-months. I suspect he also threatened her with something else, perhaps an examination of her own role in the Plame outing?

Whatever the reason, Judy starts running scared. She sends out a message to the WH, perhaps through one of her many VIP visitors that she wants out. Libby will have to cough her up a “get out of jail free” card — or else.

Enter Bolton. He tries to shore Judy up, but she lets him know that Fitzgerald is also sniffing around the broader issue of her WMD reporting and perhaps the forged Niger documents. Bolton takes her ultimatum back to the WH. Libby will have to be sacrificed for the greater good.

Bolton, or an unknown thid party contacts Miller’s lawyers and tells them that they should contact Libby’s lawyer and begin negotiations on a new waiver.

Libby feigns surprise that Miller even needs a new waiver and that she has gone to jail to protect their conversation but he encourages Miller to testify. Part of the deal, however, is that Judy must keep her mouth shut on the WMD side of the story. Judy agrees and her lawyers negotiate a deal with Fitzgerald. She is released from jail and testifies about her conversation with Libby. She does not testify about anything else, however, including her reporting on WMDs.

cross-posted at dKos

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