Throw Judy From The Train

ReddHedd blogged In advance of Public Editor Byron Calame's extensive article on the Judy escapade for Sunday's NYTimes, Bill Keller took his own case to the staff of the Times directly today {text is here} It is blunt in some places, and brutal toward Judy in a back-handed way that shows that Keller is fairly unhappy (to put it mildly) about her keeping him in the dark about a lot of things between her and Scooter. Jane's source within the NY Times confirms that the letter was sent out to the entire staff of the Times this afternoon at 2:30 pm. The source also confirms that the issues addressed in Keller's letter have been circulating around the Times all week long, as the staff and management grapple with the fact that Judy was way less than forthcoming with them about her own actions, and her involvement in the mess that Scooter Libby and others within the Administration have gotten themselves into with all of this. Jane's source tells us that "this is as much as you will ever see someone in Bill Keller's position saying that mistakes were made." Keller's letter addresses the broader issue of the Times reporting on WMD issues, and his role in decisionmaking in how the Times would deal with discrepencies in that reporting once he came on board after Howell Raines was ousted from his post in the wake of the Jayson Blair fiasco. He also talks about specifics with Judy Miller Sounds like the bloom is entirely off the rose for Keller, anyway. When asked if Keller would survive this mess, Jane's source was circumspect, saying that Keller had broader support than Raines did when he was asked to step down. The source said that Keller has more good will, more likeability and that "nobody wants to see his head on a pike, at this point."

I dont know whether Keller will survive or not, but I would suspect that the only reason Judy Miller is still there is they are waiting to see what the Grand Jury will do. And its term ends October 28.