Of all the analyzing of Judith Miller's account of her interactions with the Bush administration, one aspect of her piece has received little attention: her explanation of Libby's letter.
As she admits, Fitzgerald asked whether the letter was meant to shape her testimony. Miller said no, instead offering up this explanation:
When I was last before the grand jury, Mr. Fitzgerald posed a series of questions about a letter I received in jail last month from Mr. Libby. The letter, two pages long, encouraged me to testify. "Your reporting, and you, are missed," it begins.
Mr. Fitzgerald asked me to read the final three paragraphs aloud to the grand jury. [...]
Mr. Fitzgerald also focused on the letter's closing lines. "Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning," Mr. Libby wrote. "They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them."
How did I interpret that? Mr. Fitzgerald asked.
In answer, I told the grand jury about my last encounter with Mr. Libby. It came in August 2003, shortly after I attended a conference on national security issues held in Aspen, Colo. After the conference, I traveled to Jackson Hole, Wyo. At a rodeo one afternoon, a man in jeans, a cowboy hat and sunglasses approached me. He asked me how the Aspen conference had gone. I had no idea who he was.
"Judy," he said. "It's Scooter Libby."
The Aspen Conference connection we already knew. But it was the reference to Jackson Hole that struck me as the most interesting reference.
See, Cheney lives in Jackson Hole.
Indeed, in August 2003 when Judy went to the town Cheney was taking a month-long vacation there. For the entire month of August, Cheney was fundraising and staying at his mansion in little Jackson Hole. As the article linked above shows, it is Libby himself who decides who is the bouncer for Cheney's Jackson Hole mansion, deciding who gets a guest pass and a chance to meet the VP.
And it Libby who Judy conveniently met at the "rodeo" in Jackson Hole, wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses. And are we truly to believe that Judy and Libby did not discuss what was, at that time, an exploding scandal that had the press all worked up?
Futhermore, is it too much speculation or just a natural inference from the facts that Judy met with Cheney that August in Jackson Hole? Is that why Fitzgerald is so intent on deciphering Cheney's role?
They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them.
Just conjecture....but we'll see soon enough.
Update [2005-10-16 10:9:48 by georgia10]:: I'm not sure if this was already addressed; I did a search and nothing came up. If it's already been diaried, let me know and I'll delete.
Update [2005-10-16 10:54:19 by georgia10]:: OK, so the "search" function still sucks but the "Tag search" is pretty cool. That's how I found out that teresahill already addressed this, as have katerina, and wendellgee. So, feel free to visit and recommend her diary from last night and unrecommend this one. :)Sorry for the dupe.