Stuck On Stupid

Recently released martyr Judith Miller has had Lewis "Scooter" Libby’s permission to confirm he was a source for a year.

Her "get out of jail card" had limitations on it with a deal her lawyer made for her.  She was interviewed narrowly by the prosecutor only about Libby. The question is: Who are the other sources that she is protecting, maybe Joe Wilson?

From a New York Post Editorial:

October 1, 2005 –  After 85 days in jail for refusing to identify a source before a grand jury and to turn over her notes to a federal prosecutor investigating the Valerie Plame case, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was set free — and did exactly that on Friday.

There were conditions, of course: Her source, identified as Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, personally assured her she was no longer bound by their agreement of confidentiality.

Moreover, the notes she handed over were "edited." And the prosecutor agreed to limit the scope of his questioning.

But the end of this affair raises more questions than it answers.

Was all the hoopla really necessary?

The case involved an investigation into the publication, by columnist Robert Novak, of Plame’s name.

She’s the former CIA employee married to ex-ambassador Joseph Wilson — who publicly blasted the Bush administration, claiming his trip to Africa had disproven the White House claim that Saddam Hussein tried to buy nuclear raw materials in Africa.

Administration sources questioned Wilson’s veracity, suggesting that his wife may have played a role in getting him assigned by the CIA to undertake the Africa mission. Disclosing the name of a covert operative is a federal crime.

Libby’s lawyer insists he gave Miller’s attorneys a waiver of confidentiality more than a year ago, and repeatedly assured them — and her — that it was voluntarily made.

Yet not until Libby and Miller spoke on the phone recently did Miller accept his assurances that it wasn’t coerced.

Captain Ed has more on his blog The Captain’s Quarters.

So she was in Jail for 85 days to protect a source she could have revealed a year ago?  Miller must be Stuck On Stupid.

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