Mr. Fitzgerald's pursuit now suggests he might be investigating not a
narrow case on the leaking of the agent's name, but perhaps a broader
conspiracy.


From The Wall Street Journal, 10/12/05:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB112907415441266084-VDsI1ez92Qlr0_XPP5IbwfiUKHI_20051111.html?mod=blogs

Focus of CIA Leak Probe Appears to Widen

By JOHN D. MCKINNON, JOE HAGAN and ANNE MARIE SQUEO
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

October 12, 2005; Page A3

The New York Times reporter who went to jail to avoid testifying in
the CIA leak case was quizzed by the special prosecutor again
yesterday and has agreed to return to the grand jury today.

Judith Miller's additional testimony comes as the endgame is
intensifying in the legal chess match that threatens to damage the
Bush administration.

There are signs that prosecutors now are looking into contacts between
administration officials and journalists that took place much earlier
than previously thought.

Earlier conversations are potentially significant, because that
suggests the special prosecutor leading the investigation is exploring
whether there was an effort within the administration at an early
stage to develop and disseminate confidential information to the press
that could undercut former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife,
Central Intelligence Agency official Valerie Plame.

Mr. Wilson had become a thorn in the Bush administration's side, as he
sought to undermine the administration's claims that Iraq had sought
to buy materials for building nuclear weapons from other countries,
such as uranium "yellowcake" from Niger.

Ultimately, his wife's name and identity were disclosed in a newspaper
column, prompting the investigation into whether someone in the
administration broke the law by revealing the identity of an
undercover agent.

Ms. Miller, the Times reporter, was interviewed again yesterday to
discuss conversations she had with I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice
president's chief of staff.

She testified on Sept. 30 before a grand jury about conversations she
had with Mr. Libby in July 2003.

Since then, her lawyers have told Patrick Fitzgerald, the special
prosecutor investigating the leak of the CIA agent's identity, that
Ms. Miller's notes show that she also spoke with Mr. Libby in late
June, information that was not previously given to the grand jury.

Mr. Fitzgerald's pursuit now suggests he might be investigating not a
narrow case on the leaking of the agent's name, but perhaps a broader
conspiracy.

_________________________________________________________

Yup. There's that word "conspiracy"

Harry