Three journalists, two men and a woman, have been linked with the "outing" of a former CIA agent Valerie Plame-Wilson. One, Robert Novak who actually used her identity in a published column, has never been charged with impeding the federal investigation by failing to release the source of his information. A second, Matt Cooper of Time Magazine, after much debate and unsuccessful legal machinations by his employee, turned over his notes to the federal prosecutor. The Third, Judith Miller of the New York Times, has refused to release her source or sources, and is currently sitting in jail for her pithy defiance.

This story is surrounded by a lot of the tantalizing conspiracy theories that may or may not contain, to various degrees, elements of truth. And, don’t we all love conspiracies.

Was the "anonymous" source a high ranking White House operative using the information to get back at Plame’s husband Joseph Wilson? Wilson, you will remember, undermined the Bush administration’s contention that Saddam Hussein was attempting to purchase weapons of mass destruction. On his return from an inspection tour of Niger, he penned a column for the Times, denying the reports.

Could Plame really be considered a covert CIA agent? How long had it been since she served in that capacity, if at all? Did she peddle her influence at the CIA to get her husband the Ambassador’s post?

Did Novak make some secret deal with prosecutors to avoid the fate of Judith Miller, and did Cooper really cave in only because his bosses told him to?

It’s always important to spend some time on the grassy knoll asking these questions, for surely the answers to be found put everything into perspective. And, particularly when a public official is accused of some legal wrongdoing, it is important to conduct a full, complete and comprehensive investigation to get at the truth.

The Miller case, however, has nothing to do with answering these questions. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation moves not a fraction of an inch forward by putting her behind bars, and his failure to similarly respond to Novak raises another whole series of questions. All they do is provide the federal government with an opportunity to flex its muscles to scare away journalists from doing their jobs.

Miller’s actions are clear, simple and uncomplicated. She is standing by a long and vital moral and professional imperative: to protect the identify of her sources. You may want to believe that Area 51 is holding the secrets of alien life on earth, and that Elvis lives, but more often than not the truth is what it seems to be. Unlike Cooper, and perhaps even Novak, Miller understands the importance of that fragile trust, and will not, even when thrown in jail, break it.