I'm confused.

The NYT had this story in mid 2004 and held it for nearly 15 months.

If this leak is so horrible and needs investigating, why wasn't the leak investigated back in 2004?

And I'm not stupid so don't suggest that had it been investigated back then, then it would have been made public back then. Internal and or secret investigations seem to be this administration's forte.

To me, this pretty much proves that the FBI is not investigating this because of a leak, but because of a publication of that leak. There can be no other explanation. Thus, intimidation is the only reasonable explanation for why the FBI is investigating this now.

News is the stuff they don't want you to know about - like domestic spying and torture and secret prisons. The rest of it, for instance a Justice Department investigation, is simply public relations.

It will be interesting to see how quickly this investigation results in actual charges or resolution. The Plame investigation appeared to be deliberately slowed---first by the AG directly, then by the Administration's lack of cooperation with the Special Prosecutor. Given that this investigation is likely to identify someone outside the Administration and that such a prosecution would allow W to point at "others" as being corrupt, I would suspect that quick results will be forthcoming.

OK, let's see: the White House has known about the NY Times having the NSA warrantless spying story for at least year, and is only NOW starting an investigation into the "leak" of the information.

Oh, yeah, right. We're totally frigging credulous.

WHO in the White House knew? Well, Bush, obviously. After all, he called in the NY Times execs to ask them to suppress the story. What about Torture Boy Attorney General Abu Gonzales? Did HE know? And, if he did, what does it say about his role and DUTY as the head of the Justice Department? If this was such an egregious, "shameful," and dangerous violation of "National Security," why are we only NOW "investigating" it?

Some things are just a little too obvious.

If the NSA eavesdropping turns out to be illegal, can then the eavesdropping be classified? If not, then the leaking of the story is not illegal. It seems to me that anyone accused of this leak would simply argue that the eavesdropping is illegal, therefore cannot be a classified secret. Any trial would then be not a trial of the leak, but rather a trial of the legality of the eavesdropping.

This is really great! Big Brother is now investigating the leak about spying ordered by the President in violation of the law of the land and of the Constitution (that "goddam piece of paper"). That is rich indeed!

Is anyone in the spineless media going to point out that GWB swore to get rid of anyone involved in the Plame outing? Only to flip-flop when it became apparent that Karl Rove was involved up to his neck? When is the MSM going to expose the hypocrisy and the double standards? Where are the questions?

When is the MSM going to wake up to the fact that that we are in a situation akin to the McCarthy era? "If you do not agree with us, you are for the terrorists"? How long are intelligent people going to tolerate this Manichean view of the world?

Is anyone awake out there, or are the MSM members too busy shopping?

I've been so depressed about the MSM coverage of this story.

They are so eager to equate it with the Plame leak, to pretend that exposing a major crime is far more heinous than aiding and abetting in one.

Bless you folks. Keep putting things in perspective for all of us.

...the issue is not that someone committed a crime by leaking classified information; the issue is that criminal acts were classified by those who committed them. We can't let the administration obfuscate the issue with circuitous logic (anti-logic, really) that deflects blame on the leakers. It is the criminal acts themselves that must be investigated and brought to light.

If we must repeat this message using the same single-minded, moronic, stay-on-message methods that the administration uses to ignore facts and principles and morality, we should do so. The person sworn to uphold our Constitution cannot be allowed to subvert it under cover of classification... and we cannot remain silent.

...shouldn't we extend the same principles to our government, which is "of the people, for the people, and by the people?"

Oh, the Bush Regime is all about protecting whistleblowers - whistleblowers loyal to the team, that is. Thus, the stonewalling and obfuscation as to the identity (or identities, as the case may be) of who leaked Valerie Wilson's covert CIA operative status. And expect a full presidential pardon for Scooter and whoever else gets ensnared by Fitz.

But go against the family, buster, and you're screwed with your pants on.

You are so right about that Mr. Manjoo. That is why your unseemly defense of Judith Miller was so indefensible. Have you forgotten already?

But isn't it sad that the NY Times spent so much "freedom of the press" political capital on protecting Judy Miller, when her articles didn't actually serve readers?

No wonder the Republicans win(??) every election. These guys have the certainty of a sleep walker. In the face of admitting to criminal activity, the Bush junta now calls for an investigation into how the story was leaked??? Wow!! What balls, even if they are completely out to lunch. However, until the American press and political opposition develops a spine, the march to imperial dictatorship will continue.

Am I to understand that there is now an investigation by the Justice Dept into who told the press that the president broke the law?

After the paper of record sat on this for over a year, NOW they want to "investigate"?

Don't they already know? And for what reason, pray tell? To distract us from the real issue which is that THE PRESIDENT BROKE THE LAW? Do they actually believe that this will work? Do they actually believe that we're going to be taken in by that old gag this time? I know that there are some folks who seem to think that this is all going to prevent another terrorist attack, but, with all due respect to their point of view, IT WILL DO NOTHING OF THE SORT. I get a little heated at the suggestion that Al-Qaeda now knows all our moves because someone blurted out that the president has been spying on Americans without a warrant. Oh right. Now they know everything we're going to do. They know just what we're planning now. If I read this right, the administration has followed exactly NONE of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Things that were vulnerable before are just as vulnerable now if not more so. Our preparedness is at an all time low. So our "plans" will be exactly what they have been, which are non-existent. Unless you want to count that misbegotten misadventure in Iraq which has exactly NOTHING TO DO WITH FIGHTING TERRORISM.

So in characteristic fashion, the Bush people are going to do what they always do, blame the messenger for uncovering the truth that THE PRESIDENT BROKE THE LAW.

This has nothing to do with fighting terrorism. This is a power grab. This is not about national security. This is about the president placing himself above the law in the most arrogant fashion. Even if you were to give the president's argument weight (a strain, I agree), his conduct of the "war on terror" has been little short of totally incompetent and criminal. No one should forget this.