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It's the morning of July 8, 2003. Six days before the world will learn the truth about Ballerie Plain. Six days before a newspaper column will expose her as a CIA agent and turn her life upside down. From this morning, New York Times reporter Judith Miller is making her way through a restaurant. She's a few blocks from the White House and as she gazes across the tables, she sees her source. It's Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Libby sits with a steaming cup of coffee waiting for her to arrive. Miller joins him at the table and pulls up chair. Libby greets her. Morning, Judy. Thanks for coming. Of course, Scooter. You can probably imagine things have been crazy in the newsroom. But before we talk about what's on your mind, I wanted to talk to you about the Joe Wilson op in. Miller reports on Iraq and nuclear weapons, and she's hungry to learn more about the op in which everyone is talking about the article that hotly disputed the Bush administration's justification for going to war. Libby takes a sip of coffee and launches into it. Sure, let's talk about it. But first, let's get one thing straight. You can only quote me as a former Hill staffer. I need your word on that or we stop right here. It's strange. Miller knows that Libby hasn't worked on Capitol Hill since the 90s, but he's part of the administration now. Still she agrees to the conditions. Understood, Scooter? So? Okay. Well, first of all, Wilson's article was completely inaccurate. Huh. Do you guys even check that stuff? Miller waits silently for Libby to press on. Look, Wilson went to Niger and drank tea with his old buddies. He isn't qualified to search out a uranium deal. He doesn't know the right players. God, he was an underling when he worked there for the State Department. That was in the 70s, and the CIA knows it. The waiter brings Miller a coffee and Libby abruptly stops talking. Miller uses the moment to catch up on her notes. This is weird, she thinks. Libby isn't usually so talkative. The waiter leaves and Libby presses on. The CIA has a classified report from last year. It says Wilson came back with information showing that in 1999, Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Niger. Libby pauses as Miller continues to scribble notes. And then he lays out another juicy detail, and I'll tell you something else. Wilson's wife is a counter proliferation officer at the CIA. Her name's Valerie Plain. The implication is clear. This is how Wilson was selected to go to Africa. It was napatism, plain and clear. Another damning piece of evidence against Joe Wilson. Miller and Libby talk for a couple hours, and Miller leaves with a notebook filled with what she thinks is solid inside information. She's a good source, she thinks, should probably get a story on the front page. But Judith Miller will get a lot more than just a new story. When the dust settles, she'll find herself in jail, and she'll be at the center of a major controversy as the Justice Department goes on a hunt looking for the government officials who leaked the identity of Valerie Plain. American scandal is sponsored by the new ABC drama Alaska Daily, when an indigenous woman goes missing in Alaska. It sparks new questions about other missing and murdered indigenous women. And that's where the thrilling new ABC drama Alaska Daily begins, and where it's headed, will have you on the edge of your seat. Two time Academy Award winner Hillary Swank stars as Eileen, a veteran reporter who joins a team of local journalists working to bring the truth to light. From Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom McCarthy, Alaska Daily premieres Thursday, October 6th on ABC, and streams next day on Hulu. If you're into true crime, the Generation Y podcast is essential listening. We started this podcast over 10 years ago to dissect some of the craziest and most notable murders, crimes, and conspiracy theories together, and we'd love for you to join us. For the Generation Y podcast on Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Lindsay Graham and this is American scandal. In 2003, a newspaper column by Robert Novak revealed that Valerie Plain was a covert CIA operative. Senior officials in the Bush administration had revealed Plain's identity to Novak. This appeared to be payback to Joe Wilson, Plain's husband, and a critic of the war in Iraq. The leak upended Plain's life and sent a strong message to opponents of the war. It was better to stay silent than to challenge the administration. But White House officials wouldn't escape without scrutiny. Soon, federal investigations would begin looking for the sources of the leak, and a special prosecutor would take on a grave task. He would consider whether government leaders should be prosecuted as criminals. This is episode 2, The Investigation. It's August 20, 2003. Joe Wilson is flying into Seattle on a cloudless day. He's here because Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee has invited him to attend a town hall meeting. At the meeting, Wilson will explain how the Bush administration shaped intelligence and convinced Americans the country needed to go to war. It's a topic Wilson has been speaking publicly about, and he shows no signs that he's going to hold his tongue. Earlier that morning, he appeared on the Seattle Fox station, and CNN, where he called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his senior staff to be fired for their part in ginning up the war. Wilson arrives at the high school auditorium where the media is scheduled to take place. It's supposed to hold 600 people, but well over 1000 have shown up. As he and Inslee walk onto the auditorium stage, the crowd rises, gives a standing ovation. And as Inslee introduces Wilson, the crowd gives him another ovation. It lasts until Wilson can get on the microphone and say, Bob Novak, eat your heart out. The audience loves it. The discussion gets into how the administration pushed the country into war using false evidence, and the mood in the room grows angry. Wilson knows there are pacifists and activists out there, but there are plenty of folks who are simply concerned citizens. During the question and answer period, he fields a question about the leak of his wife's undercover CIA position. There's got to be an investigation, so and says. What does he hope to see happen? Wilson pauses a few seconds, looking at the thousand people silently waiting for his answer. He thinks about the first hand tip he got in a few weeks ago that Carl Rove, George Bush's senior advisor, had called a journalist and said that Valerie was fair game. Wilson leans into the microphone. The intention is to fully support an investigation, he says. After all, wouldn't it be fun to see Carl Rove frog marched out of the White House in handcuffs? The auditorium erupts in whistles and applause. But no matter how blistering his attacks, Wilson can't compel anyone from the administration to speak transparently about the scandal. Though the White House isn't staying quiet either. In September of 2003, Vice President Dick Cheney appears on Meet the Press and sidesteps questions about his involvement. There was a story in the National Journal that Cheney authorized Libby to leak confidential information. Can you confirm it then I that? I have the authority as Vice President under executive order issued by the President to classify and declassify information. And everything I've done is consistent with those authorities. Could you declassify Valerie Plains status as an operator? I've said all I'm going to say on the subject then. The Bush administration may not admit its role in the week, but an investigation. It's about to change now. It's the morning of September 28th, 2003. Valerie Plains hears the Sunday edition of the Washington Post hit the front door in her home. It's always bigger on the weekend, but today the paper bears some truly heavy news. Valerie grabs her copy of the post and joins Joe in the kitchen where he's making coffee. She opens the paper and that's when she sees the front page headline. It reads, Bush administration is subject of inquiry CIA agent's identity was leaked to media. She turns to Joe and Craigslist that an investigation is actually happening. According to the post, the CIA recommended that the Department of Justice investigate the leak and that's what the Justice Department is planning to do. The article goes on. A senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. An administration official is quoted, clearly it was meant purely and simply for revenge. Claim shakes her head. Revenge is exactly what she and Joe suspected this whole time. A wave of relief washes over Wilson's face because the wheels of justice have just begun to turn and the story is only going to get bigger. In the coming days, the media gives relentless cover to the controversy and the vast majority of the stories are sympathetic to Plain and Wilson. Political support for the couple is widespread and bipartisan from staunch conservative papu cannon to left wing leader Jesse Jackson. President Bush takes a stand too. In a statement he says, I want to know the truth and soon it'll begin to come out. It's early morning, October 1, 2003. His days after the Department of Justice said it would investigate the leak of Valerie Plain's identity. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armittage is at home reading the paper. He's 58 and a veteran of three combat tours in Vietnam. He's held senior positions in three administrations too. He and his boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, are the sole moderates in the Bush regime, the cooler heads. Armittage doesn't rattle easily, but this is different. He's pouring over a column by Robert Novak and he's not liking what he's reading. It reads, During a long conversation with the senior administration official, I asked why Wilson was assigned to the mission to Niger. He said Wilson had been sent by the CIA's Counterproliferation Section at the suggestion of one of its employees, his wife. It was an offhand revelation from this official who is no partisan gunslinger. Armittage goes pale. A senior administration official? A long conversation? Novak is talking about him. Armittage reaches for the phone and speed dials the private number of Colin Powell. He picks up on the first ring. Have you seen Novak's column? I'm sure he's talking about me. Powell is confused. What are you talking about? Back in July, I didn't interview with Novak in my office right after Joe Wilson's op ed ran in the Times. He asked me why the CIA would send a guy like Wilson on a mission to find Uranium. And what'd you tell him, Rich? Armittage pauses as he considers what he's about to tell us boss. I told him that Wilson's wife works at the CIA encountered proliferation and that her name is Valerie. I swear to God, he was completely offhand. I have nothing against Wilson or his wife. I would never intentionally expose a covert officer and I had no idea Novak would put it in his goddamn column. Powell clears his throat. All right. There's one thing to do. We've got to come clean. There can be no cover up around this. I'm with you, Colin. I'm going to contact our attorney and then we're going to tell the Justice Department everything. It's a presidential mandate at this point. Understood. The two men hang up. A mandate. In a press conference just 48 hours ago, Bush made a stern promise. If there was a leak out of my administration, he said, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated the law, the person will be taken care of. The warrantage knows that with a mistake like this, his career could be over. This could be a criminal offense. So there's only one thing to do. The next day, two FBI agents and a Justice Department prosecutor show up at his office and Armitage cooperates fully. He explains that the leak was unintentional. He feels relieved even if his career is in jeopardy. The investigation though is far from over because Richard Armitage isn't the only official who spread the leak. It's New Year's Eve 2003. Since the Justice Department investigation was announced two months ago, Valerie Plame has been wary of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Ashcroft is the man tasked with heading the inquiry, but he's got ties to Carl Rove. And Rove, she thinks, is probably responsible for leaking her identity. She knows the two men have a long history together. Back in the 80s and 90s, Rove was a campaign consultant for Ashcroft when he ran for governor and senator. Ashcroft had paid Rove almost $750,000 for his efforts. To Plame, this seems like a problem for the investigation. It's a conflict of interest. How can Ashcroft be impartial? How can he honestly investigate an old business partner? Plame is home, sipping glass of wine and watching the news. When she learns of a big announcement, Ashcroft has recused himself from the investigation. It's like a late Christmas gift and a New Year's firecracker rolled into one. Plame is giddy, lifts her wine glass, and toasts the TV screen. And then the news just keeps getting better. Deputy Attorney General James Comey announces Ashcroft's replacement, Patrick Fitzgerald, the US Attorney for Illinois. Plame has heard great things about the guy. In the courtroom, Fitzgerald prosecuted Mafia Kingpin John Gambino. He put together the first criminal indictment of Asama Bin Laden. He's indicted the former governor of Illinois and top aides to Chicago Mayor Richard Daly. He's six foot two and a former rugby player who was never afraid to get bloody. He's fearless, honest, and relentless. What's more, you'll have total authority. You won't have to answer to anyone in the Justice Department or the president. It's a level of autonomy that's unheard of. She refills her wine glass, New Year's Eve, time for a fresh start, and for the first time, she feels something positive might actually come out of this mess. What if your family was the victim of a home invasion? Or you woke up in the morgue? Or you were seriously injured miles from help? What would you do? This is actually happening. Ask our listeners this very question. While we bring you captivating real life stories of trauma and perseverance, this is actually happening brings listeners extraordinary true stories from the people who lived them. You'll hear stories about conflict, turmoil, or threats that dramatically alter the course of someone's life. Each episode is an exploration of the human spirit and how survivors manage to overcome hardship and move on with their lives, even thriving afterward. The new season of this is actually happening is available ad free only with Wondry Plus. And if this new season isn't enough, you can listen to more than 120 exclusive episodes available only to Wondry Plus subscribers. Join Wondry Plus on Apple Podcasts or on the Wondry app. It's February 25th, 2004. Robert Novak stands in the chilly morning air waiting for his ride. It's a trip he'd rather not take. He's being summoned by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to the Federal Courthouse in Washington, DC. Fitzgerald has convened a grand jury in his taking testimony, though to whom exactly Fitzgerald has been talking is tightly held information. Novak's an old school journalist who lives and dies by his sources. He feels they should be protected at all costs, even though his counsel instructs him to comply with whatever Fitzgerald wants because if he doesn't name names, he could be found in contempt of court. Still the grand jury proceedings are secret, no journalists are allowed, and no one will know that Novak has testified. So over the course of two hours, Novak tells all. He reveals his sources for the leak, Karl Rove, Richard Armitage, and CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, who confirmed what Novak had learned from his other sources. Novak finishes testifying and leaves the courthouse. He feels uncomfortable because he's broken a journalistic oath. He doesn't like what he's been compelled to tell the grand jury, but he is off the hook. Through the testimony of Novak and others, Patrick Fitzgerald is accumulating ammunition. He's demanding documents and emails from the White House and phone records from Air Force One. He's got three confirmed names on his list of leakers, but now his job is to determine whether anyone has broken the law and compromise national security. In fact, Fitzgerald has two laws to consider, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act and the Espionage Act. Both cover the penalties of leaking classified information, but are rarely invoked and somewhat ambiguously written. By late February, Fitzgerald is reaching into the White House for more than phone records and emails. He calls Karl Rove to testify, who admits to the conversation with Novak where he divulged Plame CIA position. His chief of staff. A host of MSNBCs meet the press. Did you discuss Joseph Wilson's op ed in the New York Times with Vice President Cheney? Yes, on multiple occasions. He was upset about it. He wanted to get all the facts about what Wilson had or hadn't done in terms of the Niger trip. Yes, is this normal for them to just send somebody out like this uncomfortated? He was interested in how did this person come to be selected for the mission? At some point his wife worked for the agency, you know. That was part of the question. Libby will go on to say that Cheney never spoke with him about the idea that Plane was behind Wilson's Niger trip. They didn't discuss the issue, Libby says, until after Noback's column ran, after the information had been revealed. But Fitzgerald is suspicious of this. He suspects that Libby is covering for Cheney. And what seems more likely is that Cheney gave Libby the green light to leak Plane's identity to get revenge on Wilson. But for now Fitzgerald decides to wrap things up. All right, Mr. Libby, that'll be all for now. Thank you for coming. As Libby leaves the courthouse, Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, thinks about his next plan of attack. It's Cheney. He's learned more about the vice president's involvement in this case. And to find answers, Fitzgerald turns to a source in the news media, Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press. NBC lodges serious objections to the questioning, but Fitzgerald prevails in a few months later, he presses Russert for more information. Fitzgerald asks Russert about Libby's claim, that Libby learned of Plane's CIA job from Russert. But the TV host denies this completely. He says when he spoke with Libby on the phone in July of 2003, Russert didn't know anything about Valerie Plane. Fitzgerald had suspected this. He's caught Libby in a lie. Fitzgerald asks Russert when he discovered Plane's CIA identity. And Russert explains that his only knowledge of Plane came through reading Novak's column. His first thought, he says, was, wow, it was news to me. Fitzgerald wants to emphasize one point. He asks Russert about the phone call, in which Libby says they discuss Wilson and Plane. Russert says he did speak on the phone with Libby, but about another matter. After Russert leaves the courtroom, Fitzgerald looks over his notes. Russert's testimony contradicts Libby's unnearly every point. And if what Russert is saying is true, and there's only one conclusion, Vice President Cheney's second in command has lied under oath. It's April 2004, and Valerie Plane is feeling on edge. Joe has just published a memoir. Part of the book looks at his service as a diplomat, but he also dives into the controversies that have occupied his and Valerie's lives. He takes aim at President Bush and the Warren Rack. He writes about the leaking of Valerie's identity. And while the book gets plenty of good reviews, right wing readers and critics take it apart. It's an election year and Bush is running again, so his supporters see the timing of the book as a deliberate roadblock to their candidates victory, all of which sparks a whole new level of attacks on Plane and Wilson. And some of those attacks are concerning. Plane has been getting sinister letters. She's received alarming phone calls and even death threats. Her four year old twins have answered the phone and heard sick, hateful voices on the other end. Joe is away on a national book tour, which leaves Valerie alone in protecting the kids. She can't stop worrying about their safety. When a colleague notifies her of an especially violent threat that's come across her desk, Plane is at the end of her rope. She asks the CIA for 24 seven security at her home in Georgetown until the election is over in November. But she gets a note from the office of the director of security at the agency and it says they need time to determine the threat level. Two months later, Plane is in her subterranean office staring at her computer screen when she gets a call from the director's office. There's a memo waiting for her. She hurries to retrieve it. Finally, she thinks this is the security she's been waiting for. Now she can sleep at night, knowing she and her family are safe. She grabs the envelope and steps into the hallway to read the memo. It says that after a period of observation, the CIA has found no credible threats to her or her family. Her request has been denied. Plane is shocked. She stares dumbfounded at the letter. Agency employees rush by her in the hallway. The words sink in. She's on her own. Plane walks back to her office and shows the memo to her supervisor. He's as shocked as she is. Stuck to her words, he hands the note back to her in the mumbles. I imagine you must be disappointed in their decision. Disappointed. Plane doesn't feel disappointed. She feels betrayed. The CIA has always taken pride in protecting its own. After almost two decades of loyal service, Plane feels she certainly qualifies as part of the family. Now the agency is leaving her out in the cold, vulnerable. Plane leaves work and drives home. She turns onto her quiet, tree line street, and as she approaches her house, she takes a new point of view. She begins assessing her home from the mindset of an attacker. What are the escape routes? Where are the weak entry points? These are lessons from her CIA training. The minute she walks in the door, she grabs her children's nanny and gives her a quick course in surveillance detection. Plane then issues standing orders to not let the children out of sight. Because even though she's scared, and even though she feels deserted by her government, Valerie Plane is not going to give up. She's not done fighting. It's July 2004. New York Times reporter Judith Miller is traveling to Manhattan to pay a visit to George Freeman. He's the paper's assistant general counsel and respected expert on First Amendment law. Miller makes her way through the buzzing times building and heads to his office. He greets her with a smile and a firm handshake. Judy, take a seat. What's on your mind? Well, I'm concerned about the government's hunt. They want information about the Valerie Plane leak and Fitzgerald was sending subpoenas to journalists. Man, what does it have to do with you? Well, I think I'm on the subpoena list. Freeman Cox's head looks at her curiously. I've known for months the Plane worth of the CIA. I had coffee with Scooter Limby, and I've known she was probably behind her husband's fact finding trip to Niger. Freeman picks up a paperclip and starts twisting it. So let's start from the star, Judy. Who with the paper did you talk to about this? Only the DC Bureau chief, my told her that Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, may have been responsible for sending him to Niger. Did anyone follow up? No, no vac scooped us. And did you write anything at all about the allegation? Not a thing, but I can't go before Grand Jury reveal Libby's name. He's a confidential source. Freeman leans back in his chair. He grins and flicks the twisted paperclip into the trash. I don't think you have anything to worry about. The paper never wrote about it, and you never wrote about it. So no one's going to send you to jail for something you didn't write. Judith Miller rises, feeling a wave of relief. Because like most journalists, she believes it's a sacred duty to keep your sources confidential. And now she's gotten the advice she hope to hear. She won't have to break that sacred oath. She's been told there's nothing to worry about. July 7th, 2004 Joe Wilson comes home in a rage and dumps a two inch stack of papers on the kitchen table. It's a report from the US Senate committee and it looks at the intelligence agencies and their assessment of Iraq before the war. He hands the sack to Valerie. She does a fast read and immediately something jumps out. The report says in no uncertain terms that it was Valerie who suggested sending Joe to the chair. And to bolster its claims, the report includes an email from Valerie in which she laid out Joe's qualifications for the investigation. Claim is furious. This is bull, she thinks. First off, the request had come from a higher up, who asked her if Joe would meet with a CIA team and discuss a trip. And her supervisor asked her to send that email. She'd completely forgotten about it. It seemed like routine business. This smells like another hit job. The report has been tweaked and distorted in all in an effort to throw her under the bus to once again make the case that Joe's investigation was an act of nepotism, another attempt to discredit them. That night over dinner, Joe was silent, but he's fuming. After a few bites, he gets up and drops his plate in the sink. Plame can sense it. The stress is getting to both of them. Joe turns to Valerie and angrily asks why she wrote that email. Valerie snaps back, saying she wrote the email because her boss asked her to. How was she supposed to know any of this would happen? But there's more of this to come. When the report goes public, the media is all over it. Valerie faces more withering personal attacks. At work, a few days later, a colleague approaches Plame and confirms what she'd remembered all along. Plame didn't suggest Joe for the trip. Her colleague did. And the colleague says he told the truth to the reporting committee. But when he told his supervisor that he wanted to correct the Senate report, the supervisor made it perfectly clear he should remain silent. The administration is suppressing the truth wanting to hurt her and Joe, she thinks. And it's working because Joe's consulting business is now not doing so well. And Plame feels like she's close to a nervous breakdown. Looking for some relief, she requests a six month leave without pay from the agency. It's August 2004, and New York Times reporter Judith Miller has received a subpoena to appear before the grand jury. She's also ordered to hand over any notes she has from June and July 2003. The message is clear. Patrick Fitzgerald will pursue anyone who can shed light on the leak that revealed Valerie Plame's identity. Miller's been planning how to deal with his upcoming confrontation. And she's come to a hard decision. She's going to refuse to appear before the grand jury or turn over her notes. She's not going to name her confidential source. She will not disclose what Scooter Libby told her. In October, Judge Thomas F. Hogan takes a dim view of her stand, and sentences Miller to be jailed for up to 18 months. Though in an effort to change her mind, he suspends the sentence until her appeal. But Miller knows that she won't be swayed. It's November 2nd, 2004, the day of the presidential election. This year, George W. Bush is running against Democrat John Kerry. It's been a tough and bitter campaign, and Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson have cast their votes for Kerry, who's vocally criticized Bush's war in Iraq. Plame feels like this could be a day of redemption, a day when everything turns around. She passes through the curtains of the voting booth and casts her vote for Kerry. As she does, she says a silent prayer that he'll defeat the president. After voting, she heads home. Joe heads to a local bar for a cigar and a drink, where he'll watch the election returns come in. While he's there, he gives her a call, practically screaming over the din of the bar. He's excited because the early exit polls are favoring Kerry. She can hear the joy in her husband's voice. Tonight, the two of them have something to be hopeful for, something to look forward to. But Joe's got some other news, too. He just met Judith Miller, who's out on appeal from her jail sentence. Miller recognized him and introduced herself. Joe tells his wife that Miller had said a Kerry win is a done deal. She said that if she thought it was a close call at all, she'd been in the newsroom working. Instead, she spent the afternoon shopping for prison clothes. The two finished chatting and Plame hangs up, hoping that Miller has a story right. But as the results come in, Plame's heart sinks. President Bush is staying in the White House. While Miller was wrong about the election, she was right to have spent some time thinking about jail. It's July 2005. Judith Miller's appeal doesn't pan out and she still refuses to reveal her source. So she sentenced to jail for over two months or until she agrees to testify. She asks for house arrest, but Patrick Fitzgerald is dismissive. Force vacation at a comfortable home is not a compelling form of coercion, he says. And she won't be cooling her heels in some country club jailhouse either. With the bang of a gavill, Miller, a 46 year old investigative reporter, becomes an inmate. As she waves goodbye to her husband in the courtroom, Marshalls take her by the arms. They shackle her wrists to her ankles, shuffle her into a van and transport her to a new home. The Alexandria detention center in nearby Virginia, a maximum security jail. Miller is photographed and fingerprinted. She's issued an olive green uniform. The word prisoner stenciled in white letters on the back of the jacket. She's led into a 7 by 10 foot cell with an open toilet, a sink, and concrete ledges with yoga mats that serve as bunks. She'll share the space with two other women. The fluorescent overhead lights are kept on all day and night. There's no exercise yard, but female inmates are allowed to use the basketball court when the male prisoners aren't shooting hoops. But for Miller, the worst thing is the loss of control and the sheer boredom. On her first day, another inmate approaches her and says they've met before. Miller asks where and the inmate says it was the White House correspondent's dinner in 1988. The woman was a former Capitol Hill worker who'd been locked up for writing bad checks. Even in prison Miller thinks you still network with Capitol Hill staffers. Soon Miller discovers that the word is out on her, but in a good way. Miller is in jail because she's not a snitch. In the world behind bars, that gains her respect. As the weeks pass, she learns to tolerate her daily life at the jail. But her stay could go on much longer. Patrick Fitzgerald is threatening to extend her confinement by 18 months if she won't reveal her source. So Miller decides to take action. She authorizes her lawyers to contact Scooter Libby. She wants to see if he'll give her a waiver, allowing her to reveal his name. The lawyers come back with an answer. Libby says yes. She should be happy, but she's also skeptical. She wants to know whether Libby was somehow coerced. Soon she gets a strange letter from him. In it he writes, I believe the year ago, as now, that testimony by all will benefit all. The public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear they did not discuss Miss Plam's name or identity with me. Miller doesn't know what that means. She knows Libby discussed Plam with her at a breakfast in 2003 and her notebooks back that up. Was he pushing her to lie? Whatever Libby's motive may have been, soon Miller makes a deal with Fitzgerald. He'll only ask about Libby, not other sources, and she won't have to give up her notebooks. On September 29th, after 85 days in jail, Miller is set free. The next day she testifies and reveals her interactions with Libby. She's vague on certain details and her memory is faulty, but she confirms a key point for Fitzgerald. She talked with Scooter Libby about Balleray Plam. This testimony brings the investigation closer to the White House, closer to the leaders who leaked Balleray Plam's name, and closer to the ones who sought to pay back her husband for criticizing the war. Next on American scandal, Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the plain week is firing on all cylinders. Now he's homey and on Scooter Libby. Whether he'll take a bullet for his boss, Vice President Dick Cheney remains to be seen, but someone is going down. From wondering, this is American scandal. Just a quick note about our reenactments. We can't always know exactly what was said, but everything in our show is based on historical research. American scandal is hosted, edited, and executed produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for airship, sound designed by Derek Barons. This episode is written by Peter Kielstrap. Our senior editor is Karen Lo. Produced by Game Ribbon. Executive producers are Stephanie Chens, Jenny Lauer Beckman, and her nonlopes for wondering.