Okay, the Plame/Rove/Libby investigation appears to really be heating up. The MSM is covering it again. First, according to the Washington Post, the Bush team is getting a little freaked about what might happen:
What remains a central mystery in the case is whether special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has accumulated evidence during his two-year investigation that any crime was committed. His investigation has White House aides and congressional Republicans on edge as they await Fitzgerald's announcement of an indictment or the conclusion of the probe with no charges. The grand jury is scheduled to expire Oct. 28, and lawyers in the case expect Fitzgerald to signal his intentions as early as this week.There have been other reports that White House staffers are very nervous about what might happen to Karl. And it looks like Fitzgerald still has a few prosecutorial tricks up his sleeve:
[A] new theory about Fitzgerald's aim has emerged in recent weeks from two lawyers who have had extensive conversations with the prosecutor while representing witnesses in the case. They surmise that Fitzgerald is considering whether he can bring charges of a criminal conspiracy perpetrated by a group of senior Bush administration officials. Under this legal tactic, Fitzgerald would attempt to establish that at least two or more officials agreed to take affirmative steps to discredit and retaliate against Wilson and leak sensitive government information about his wife. To prove a criminal conspiracy, the actions need not have been criminal, but conspirators must have had a criminal purpose.Criminal conspiracy works. The White House puts a lot of time and energy and planning in to their smear campaigns. In the Plame situation, all their conspiring was illegal.
