Mr. Pincus has not identified his source to the public. But a review of Mr. Pincus's own accounts and those of other people with detailed knowledge of the case strongly suggest that his source was neither Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political adviser, nor I. Lewis Libby, the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, and was in fact a third administration official whose identity has not yet been publicly disclosed.
Mr. Pincus's most recent account, in the current issue of Nieman Reports, a journal of the Nieman Foundation, makes clear that his source had volunteered the information to him, something that people close to both Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby have said they did not do in their conversations with reporters.
Mr. Pincus has said he will not identify his source until the source does so. But his account and those provided by other reporters sought out by Mr. Fitzgerald in connection with the case provide a fresh window into the cast of individuals other than Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby who discussed Ms. Wilson with reporters.
The above is from Douglas Jehl's "Case of C.I.A. Officer's Leaked Identity Takes New Turn" in this morning's New York Times. ("David Johnston and Richard W. Stevenson contributed reporting for this article.")
Jehl (and Johnston & Stevenson) also attempt to address the issue of what Judith Miller was or wasn't covering. (Don't get too interested in that, the attempts don't reveal anything.) Hopefully, that won't overwhelm the news of the above. Speculation online points to Condi Rice's involvement in the outing. (See CounterPunch's "The Source Beyond Rove" by Roger Morris.) Pincus, as reported in the Times this morning, appears to be confirming that there was a third person helping to out Valerie Plame.
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