Strategic Retreat

"The sealing of indictments is an action generally confined to cases where defendants are considered flight risks, or where the government is seeking to use them as leverage to gain the cooperation of defendants -- especially in violent crime and drug cases.

"But lawyers close to the CIA leak case said that it would not be unusual for Fitzgerald to seal an indictment for a brief period to give notice to the people indicted, and to make arrangements for their surrender to authorities. It also would give the prosecutor the opportunity to simultaneously announce a series of indictments obtained at different times, they pointed out."

Anne Marie Squeo writes in the Wall Street Journal: "It is expected that any indictments will be very detailed and discuss the involvement of other White House officials who aren't being charged."

Thomas M. DeFrank, Kenneth R. Bazinet and James Gordon Meek write in the New York Daily News about suspicions that a plea bargain could be in the works for Rove.

The Think Progress blog caught Time reporter Mike Allen talking to Chris Matthews on MSNBC last night:

"MIKE ALLEN: A lot of activity happening that we're not seeing. A likely scenario for what happened today, Patrick Fitzgerald got some indictments from this grand jury. He is now able to go to the. . . .

"CHRIS MATTHEWS: You think they're sealed right now?

"MIKE ALLEN: Very possible. What I'm told is typically, in a case like this, he could get the indictments and now he can go to the targets and say, you can plead to these or I'll go back Friday and get more. You have 12 to 24 hours to think about it.

"CHRIS MATTHEWS: And he can give them a little Whitman Sampler of suggestions pleading to the charge of obstruction or perjury or. . . .

"MIKE ALLEN: I can add a bunch of counts. You can take a couple of counts or we can do a bunch more."

The Stories About the Story

Mark Leibovich writes in The Washington Post: "No story with so few facts has so thoroughly distracted Washington like the CIA leak story has this week. Yesterday was especially excruciating as we waited to hear if there would be indictments of people in the White House. . . .

" 'It's like one big 'West Wing' episode,' says Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). 'You have a lot of drama, high stakes, media's in a frenzy, staffers glued to the TV and hitting the refresh key on the Drudge Report.' He mentions secret plans and secret talking points that may or may not exist."