It's expensive on the dark side

Sympathy can be hard to come by for White House officials who are summoned to appear before a grand jury.

Those whose identities remain a secret suffer in silence, discouraged from reaching out to their closest friends for help. Those whose names leak into the public domain become lightning rods for rumor, suspicion and innuendo, as politicians, commentators and journalists try to divine a meaning behind each summons.

The latest White House staffer to face the grand jury is Susan B. Ralston, assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, who gave testimony to the committee investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

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Witnesses face stress, uncertainty and -- worst of all -- crippling lawyer's fees that can take years to pay off. And as prosecutors cast their net ever wider, inexperienced staffers with few financial assets are increasingly facing the emotional and financial burden of grand jury testimony.

yep, i agree, and i'm sure that such vulnerability only serves to make public service even less attractive than it already is... however, pledging your soul to the dark side does carry consequences (and i'm not just referring to the r's here)... you'd think that the bosses of some of these poor bastards, with their access to the fortunes of america's super-rich, would be able to get them help... but, nah... it's just like new orleans... you made your bed, now lie in it...

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