MICKEY KAUS: “It’s not that NBC’s ‘reporters’ aren’t telling the whole story. They aren’t even telling the minimal, basic gist of the story that others are telling. It’s getting cult-like and creepy!”

UPDATE: Reader Fletcher Hudson emails:

It’s not that Russert is telling a minimal story to the public, he negotiated a deal to tell only a minimal story to the FBI investigator who took his “statement”. This “statement” serves as the credited version of the false statement alleged in the indictment.

Had he been a mere blogger, not a journalist, he may have been required to give a complete account that may not have differed that much from Libby’s. On the day of the indictment , I heard Russert tell Brian Williams that the FBI interview lasted only 20 Minutes and that he only answered two questions. Without saying what those questions were, he said that he told the FBI that did not ask Libby if he knew “Plame”, Wilson’s wife, worked at the CIA. And that he did not receive a leak from Libby. As a former federal investigator ( after UT Law’ 63) , it’s hard to believe this part of the indictment can be based on so little.

It’s interesting that Fitzgerald was willing to accept such narrow limits.