As to specifics, Leopold writes:

Cheney said he was unaware that Ambassador Wilson was chosen to travel to Niger to look into the uranium claims, and that he never saw a report Wilson had given a CIA analyst upon his return which stated that the Niger claims were untrue. He said the CIA never told him about Wilson's trip.

However, the emails say otherwise, and will show that the vice president spearheaded an effort in March 2003 to attack Wilson's credibility and used the CIA to dig up information on the former ambassador that could be used against him, sources said.

Some of the emails that were turned over to Fitzgerald contained references to Plame Wilson's identity and CIA status, and developments related to the inability of ground forces to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after the start of the war in March 2003.

I have long thought the operative date for Cheney and his staff's decision to go after Joseph Wilson was March, 2003. I've also wondered whether Cheney told the truth to investigators when he was interviewed, and whether Cheney isn't Fitzgerald's top target.

If he denied being part of the White House Iraq Group meetings at which discussions were held as to how to respond to Wilson's public statements; if he didnt' tell investigators or Fitz that he learned of Wilson's wife's employment from the CIA at least by June 12 when he told Libby -- then Cheney is in trouble.

Fitz will take this investigation as high as it goes, including to Cheney. Hopefully, he'll get there before the 2008 elections.

[Graphic created exclusively for TalkLeft by CL.]