The Plain Truth?

So, Judith Miller of the Times is sitting in jail. Conservative commentator Robert Novak is free as a lark, despite being the first to publicize the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. With his source's permission, the guy from Time gets to wipe his brow in relief. Journalists everywhere are confused and pissed off about what this all implies for their future investigative efforts.

And we now have our first example of the fallout of this misguided situation and the failure of the Supreme Court to rectify the situation - or at least to hear it out.

Lawyers for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, the largest daily in Ohio, have strongly recommended for the editor, Doug Clifton, to withhold two important investigative pieces from publication. Despite the pieces being of "significant interest to the public," according to Clifton, they will not be released in the short term. The sources for the pieces are confidential, and the information they gave was leaked. The editor and owners of the Plain Dealer fear legal action that would force the journalists to reveal their sources in a situation parallel to the current debacle. Here's the NYT article if you want to read more.

I want to know what information is being withheld. I want to know what Karl Rove has to do with all this. I smell his stink somewhere.