The Judy War

Following the big Times takeouts, Bill Keller sends his staff a note, posted on Romenesko :

"In the world beyond the media water coolers, the focus will shift back to more momentous stories -- possibly including the leak investigation in which, for all we know, this paper's ordeal may have been more a digression than a climax. With any luck all of you can resume your undistracted, full-throttle pursuit of putting out the best news report in the world. . . .

"If I had it to do over, there is probably much I'd do differently, and we can chew on the lessons learned when I return, but I hope my first instinct -- and the paper's -- would still be to defend a reporter in the line of duty, even if the circumstances lack the comfort of moral clarity."

The Times does a cool thing --it posts a page of bloggers tackling the Miller case, including those who are ripping the paper.

Journalists are quick to predict indictments, as we see from Bill Kristol's Fox appearance with Chris Wallace:

"KRISTOL: But talking to people pretty close to both Libby and Rove outside of government, who therefore can talk about it, I think they expect the worse now. I think they --

"WALLACE: That both Libby and Rove will be indicted.

"KRISTOL: I believe, if I had to predict -- and I don't know more this than anybody else reading the papers -- that both Libby and Rove will be indicted, not for what the original referral was about but for some combination of disclosing classified information or perhaps failing to be fully candid with federal investigators or with the grand jury."

Josh Marshall picks up on my quotes from Floyd Abrams, Miller's lawyer, talking about his client:

"Remember, this isn't just another player in the case. This is her lawyer. Nobody expects him to lie for her. But he doesn't have to say anything.

"I know using the word 'lie' here may seem overdone. And certainly Abrams is careful to phrase his words in such a way so as not to explicitly say she is being untruthful. But these are not minor points in her story that he is contradicting. They are close to the two most significant ones -- first, just why she initially refused and then agreed to talk, and, second, whether there are other mystery sources out there who could be the source of Plame's name.

"On both points he is taking it upon himself to contradict her account publicly."