No one creates a website unless they intend to use it

October 21, 2005

Dan Froomkin discovered today that Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has created a website. Seriously. It’s already up and has some posted documents.

The next question, of course, is what Fitzgerald might plan to add to his new site.

Could it be that he’s getting ready to release some new legal documents? Like, maybe, some indictments? It’s certainly not the action of an office about to fold up its tents and go home.

Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn minimized the significance of the Web launch in an interview this morning.

“I would strongly caution, Dan, against reading anything into it substantive, one way or the other,” he said. “It’s really a long overdue effort to get something on the Internet to answer a lot of questions that we get . . . and to put up some of the documents that we have had ongoing and continued interest in having the public be able to access.”

OK, OK. But will the Web site be used for future documents as well?

“The possibility exists,” Samborn said.

Take that as you will. I, for one, will take it as an encouraging sign that next week will be very interesting.

The “possibility exists”? You’re killing me, just killing me. I’ll be thinking about that all weekend.

  • I’m still worried that this whole thing is going to end up as one big let down with a couple minor administration lackies being indicted.

  • I guess, at the very least, they wouldn’t have set this up if he was going to “close shop” without making some kind of report or issuing charges?

    Hopefully, this will make my weekend seem to drag on – I could use a long weekend.

  • I find it interesting that Fitzgerald’s office is only posting documents relating to the Plame investigation. He has other investigations ongoing, does he not? Mayor Daley’s hiring scandal comes to mind…

    Looks to me like indictments are on their way for the Bush White House.

  • Wonder if the site will add a “comments” option. Or an option for “confessions,” “snitches,” “pardons” and “swiftboaters.”

  • Why would you put up a web site that says “Please address all corespondence to our Washington DC office”? One reason might be that you actually plan to have an office in DC. Now why would you plan to have an office in DC if your office is in Chicago?

    Time to check Fitzgerald’s lease in DC and see if it lasts more than a year. If he is smart he will buy. This will be long and ugly.

  • As someone suggested here, what the forged
    document did to the draft dodging Bush story
    may be the same as what the wrapped up
    Plame case does to the fraudulent case for
    attacking Iraq story – that is, ends it, period.
    Any hope of impeaching Bush for war crimes
    goes poof with the end of the Fitzgerald
    investigation. Because all we’re getting
    is a lot of buzz about Libby and Rove and
    Miller, and it doesn’t seem to be going
    any place else.

    I think the conventional wisdom will be
    if that’s all Fitzgerald turned up, then
    that’s all there is. Just a couple of
    bad Libby and maybe Rove apples.
    Goodbye Downing Street et al.

  • How many millions of times a day do you think is office is contacted by the media et al? Trying to scoop THE DAY.

  • K… I went through all of the documents and there is nothing new on there. So if we are to believe that this website has been put up to answer “a lot of questions” … that Fitzgerald’s office gets, I’d like to know who is asking them? Kindergarteners? Maybe more enlightening documents will be forthcoming. I’m hoping for one type in particular.

  • I think he see a deluge no matter how the his investigation turns out and this web site is his bulwark against the flood. If there are indictments the right will be up in arms spinning away about the criminalization of politics. If there are no indictments the left will be up in arms demanding to know why and suggesting a cover-up.

    Bottom line: I don’t read too much into the fact he has a web site now.

  • Billmon has a theory:

    By throwing those letters up on the web today, Fitzgerald has, intentionally or not, signaled that he doesn’t have the slightest intention of backing down.

    It’s as good as any other theory, I suppose.

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