Cheney Speculation

The David Johnston, Richard W. Stevenson and Douglas Jehl story in the New York Times that says that I. Lewis Libby learned Valerie Plame's name from Vice President Dick Cheney is causing all kinds of speculation and discourse from the MSM and the Blogesphere.

As Fox New points out, "It would not likely have been a crime for Cheney and Libby to have discussed Plame, since both presumably possessed security clearances."

But the Guardian UK reminds readers that "If this is accurate, it would appear to differ from Mr Libby's evidence to a grand jury that he first heard the name of the agent, Valerie Plame, from journalists."

Dan Froomkin asks the following questions in the Washington Post:

* Who told Cheney, and under what circumstances?
* Did Cheney acknowledge his own role when he spoke to prosecutors last summer? If not, could he be indicted himself?
* Did Cheney encourage Libby not to disclose their conversation?
* Did President Bush know about Cheney's role?
* Who leaked this latest development -- and what was their motivation?
* Does this mean the White House will stop blaming reporters for everything? (That one was rhetorical: The answer is no.)

What is really behind all the questions and speculation is the idea that Cheney was in charge of an organized effort to discredit Joseph Wilson through his wife.