More On the Prosecutor Scandal

The latest turn is Ms. Goodling's intent to take the fifth rather than testify before Congress. And while I agree with some that, to paraphrase Atrios's, you don't get to take the fifth because you expect people are going to be mean to you, I more strongly agree that these twist and turns as we chase the cover-up are leading us away from the crux of the matter: the underlying act. It's not that to get out of trouble that Mr. Bush and his subordinates would try to lie and weasel and spin or whatever else it is they're calling their mangling of the truth this week. It's just what they're trying to cover-up and just how wrong and unprecedented it is to purge the Justice Department for political reasons is that we need to be concerned with.

Ms. Goodling's decision is important, indeed, because it means that there's some fire underneath all the smoke clouds here. You don't get to take the fifth because you feel like it but because you're legitimately worried about incriminating yourself. And not just for something like perjury, either. So it means that there's at least one person in the administration involved in this scandal who's worried they've committed a crime. I gather the going theory is that she gave some information to a Senator which caused him to make a false statement to Congress – and causing another person to make a false or misleading statement to Congress is, in fact, a federal felony.

But Ms. Goodling is just one more sidestory in the overwhelming narrative of an administration so caught up in its own power and arrogance. And, I think, whether she'll answer questions or not, the important ones have yet to be asked. Not by the people who should, anyway.