Pacific Views

The Plame leak investigation.

Over at Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshal offers some thoughts on why US attorney general John Ashcroft recused himself from the investigation.

One might surmise that Ashcroft, after some time to think it over, decided that it was the wiser course to recuse himself and appoint a special prosecutor.

You could surmise that. But then you'd be pretty stupid. So let's pass on that possibility.

Let's consider two other possibilities, both of which assume this was triggered by on-going developments in the investigation.

One possibility is that the investigation has come up with more and more evidence and that has made it increasingly likely that there will be an indictment or at least some extensive grand jury proceedings. Because of that, it's now no longer tenable for Ashcroft to remain in charge of the investigation, since it's now clear that some serious wrong-doing occurred. [...]

But there's another possibility: that is, that this decision isn't the result of the general progress of the investigation or the accumulation of evidence, but something specific. Or more to the point, a specific person. And that something has just taken place.

Obviously these are general scenarios, which may, in reality, overlap quite a bit. But what strikes me about this announcement today was its timing. And the timing leads me to think the third scenario is the most likely.