Advance Word on the Times' Judy-Culpa

I'm hearing that the Times' big Judy-culpa is definitely coming on Sunday -- and also that Judy's camp is worried that it's going to be very hard on her.

"The team of reporters working on the story is absolutely top notch," a Times source told me. "Don Van Atta is one of the best investigative reporters in the country. If there is something gettable, they'll get it. And I'd be stunned if Sulzberger and Keller tried to suppress anything these reporters come up with." The team has been interviewing what a source calls "some of Judy's most ardent critics, people inside the paper who have worked with her in the past."

The question remains: how cooperative will Miller be? Jay Rosen (here and here) and Raw Story have their doubts.

In any case, I've been told that Miller has been "ordered" to write a first-person, what-I-told-the-grand-jury account.

In the meantime, Judy will be heading west this weekend to attend a conference at Cal State Fullerton called, I kid you not, "Power to the People: Unlocking Government for the Public and Press and the Blogs!" Provide your own punchline. As part of the conference, Miller will present a special award on Saturday honoring Mark "Deep Throat" Felt. I wonder if he ever sent Woodward and Bernstein letters about aspen trees?

You'd think Miller would be in New York, working on her first-person story and helping the Times team close its piece (I mean, it's not like there's not a lot riding on it).

But maybe the thinking is that she'd better enjoy the moment while she can. After Sunday's Times hits the stand -- assuming the Miller team has done its job -- such invitations might be much harder to come by.