Pushing Keller

Talk Left points out that all this talk of a waiver for Lil Miz Judy is bunk. Lil’ Miz Judy is refusing to talk for reasons of her own.

However, I maintain that calling on Libby to produce this waiver puts pressure on the one place that may have some influence with Miller — the NY Times. The weak point for her is if her employers get really antsy. We’ve already seen some indication that they are. Divide ‘n conquor.

Jane Hamsher reports something I hadn’t heard before which was James Carville’s appearance on Imus last week in which he posited that Fitzgerald was going to call Keller et al before the grand jury. I don’t know how he’d know that, but whether he does or not, it’s quite clear there are rumblings down at the Kewl Kidz soda shoppe. Carville is very well connected if nothing else.

(In fact, as with so many others in the beltway circle jerk, he has a conflict of interest a mile wide — his wife, who is up to her ears in this thing. She was, after all, hired back specifically to handle the post Novak damage control.)

Still, I assume that he’s not working for Rove:

Carville said there was “heavy, heavy speculation out there” that Miller was being used by the White House to “disseminate this” – an apparent reference to CIA employee Valerie Plame’s name.

“There are all sorts of rumors and I hear second hand that [Miller] was screaming out in the news room about this.”

The Times, said Carville, “to some extent is going to have to come clean. Because they’re going to have to tell us what Judy Miller knew, when she knew it and who she told.”

“And there’s a lot of people at the Times – and I know this to be a fact – who believe that,” he insisted.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see,” Carville mused, “whether [Miller’s] problem is a First Amendment [problem] – i.e., I want to protect a source – or a Fifth Amendment [problem] – I was out spreading this stuff too.”

None of this is particularly new to those of us who’ve been following the punchin’ Judy show. But it does seem to be bubbling up. As more and more strategic leaks are sprung, it becomes clear that some major media players have not been forthcoming.

Certainly Tim Russert owes everybody a little explanation about that NBC psuedo-statement that leaves wide open the fact that he may have shared a delicious little bit of back-biting gossip with his friend Scooter. If he didn’t then he should come clean and take his medicine as he so santimoniously advises all his politician friends to do.

Bob Novak should be… oh forget it. The man’s having a public nervous breakdown. It’s absurd to think that he would behave like a journalist anyway. He should be retired. (His sources are already making a fool of him — remember the Rehnquist is resigning today at 4:50pm story?)

And finally, we have the vaunted New York Times executive staff who’ve been parading Judy around like she was Jesus himself being crucified for standing up for the first amendment. It’s been awfully convenient for them to do so, but their loyalty to Judith Miller is misplaced and it’s hurting their reputations. They are going to have to start making some tough choices about what is really important to them.

If Lewis Libby says publicly that he released Judith Miller from all her obligations, the public is really going to wonder what in the hell is going on. See, this excuse that sources shouldn’t be coerced only works when the source is a powerless lone citizen standing up against the full force of the government. Lewis Libby is chief of staff to the Vice President of the United States. If he makes it clear that he releases her from her waiver, nobody is going to believe that he’s weakly acquiesing to the big bad government. He is the big bad government.

I realize that Miller will likely not capitulate even then. But it will put a tremendous pressure on the NY Times — and they may put pressure on her. We’ll see whether Miller cares more about her neocon buddies or her own career and reputation.

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