Once again, it has come down not to the actual act, but rather to lying about it after the fact.

That's been the pattern in Washington since Watergate and it continues today, with word that Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been indicted for lying about his actions in the release of the name of a CIA operative to news reporters.

From all accounts, proving the underlying "crime" of leaking the name of a CIA employee is difficult, dependent on a host of case-by-case facts.

But the case involving lying appears far more clear-cut.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald charges that Libby lied to FBI agents and to the grand jury about conversations with reporters. Based on the indictment, it appears Libby was attempting to mislead investigators about how reporters learned the name of Valerie Plame, the agent whose diplomat-husband had been publicly critical of the Bush administration.

But the matter should not end here. There is substantial suspicion that Plame's name was leaked in direct retribution for the actions of her husband. If true, this is a base case of putting politics ahead of national security and the rule of law.

We know the name was leaked, doing unknown damage to the work of Plame and her clandestine associates. What we need to know now is why the name was leaked.

Was there a legitimate effort to get hidden and important truth out to the public? Unlikely. It is more likely to be a case of rather vindictive "gotcha."

In his comments, Fitzgerald insisted that his investigation is "not over," and he put the larger stakes in appropriate context:

"A CIA officer's name was blown and there was a leak and we needed to figure out how that happened, who did it, why, whether a crime was committed and whether we could prove, whether we should prove it. Given national security was at stake, it was especially important that we find out accurate facts."

That should be at the heart of this investigation.

The integrity of the executive branch is at stake.