The Fitz - Fizz circus should turn on its head with the testimony of Tim (Plame? I did I say Plame?, No, I said, Flame!) Russert today (photo of Little Russ arriving on crutches).

Tom McGuire sinks his teeth into the possibilities:

“I did a long preview last week, but here is an additional two cents: Russert can lose this case for Fitzgerald but he can’t win it. Why? Part of the excitement about Russert’s appearance is that Russert’s previous testimony *MAY* have been deliberately ambiguous. From the NBC press release:

Mr. Russert told the Special Prosecutor that, at the time of that conversation, he did not know Ms. Plame’s name or that she was a CIA operative and that he did not provide that information to Mr. Libby. Mr. Russert said that he first learned Ms. Plame’s name and her role at the CIA when he read a column written by Robert Novak later that month.

Obviously, Mr. Russert could have *HYPOTHETICALLY* said to Libby “All the reporters know that Wilson’s wife is at the CIA and sent him on this trip” without being aware of her name or that she was an “operative”.

If Russert rocks the court with the news that, although he did not discuss Valerie Plame with Libby he may have said something about Joe Wilson’s wife, well, Special Counsel Fitzgerald may be laughed out of the courtroom and jurors will be left wondering about the credibility of other journalists, specifically Matt Cooper and Judy Miller.”

This farse should have been laughed up and out of the court from the beginning. However, again, the trial continues to be the smoke screen by which those who actually perpetrated a crime can continue to hide behind their rocks.

One has to be asleep at the wheel to believe that all the principals - meaning those of the journalistic variety - didn’t know about Plame early on - therefore leaving devulgement a no-brainer - then wearing astronaut diapers on the way to meeting a rival could be considered normal.

I don’t know why I or anyone else would expect Little Russ to come clean when hitherto he has hid behind the Peakcock, but as Tom says,

“Nothing would please me better? C’mon, world peace, a world free from disease, even the Yankees back in the Series where they belong would all put a bigger smile on my face. However, a Russert meltdown would absolutley make my day and prolng my insufferability by several more.”

Keep the faith Tom, half the story has yet to be told.