Conventional wisdom over the past week has been that the actual target of the CBS story --- President Bush --- could certainly try to sue CBS for slander, but that he obviously won't due to the political implications of such a move. But observe this passage from from the full CBS statement:

"Two of the examiners, Mssrs. Matley and Pierce, attested and continue to attest to their belief in the documents’ authenticity. (see attachments 1 and 2) Two others, Ms. Will and Ms. James, appeared on a competing network yesterday, where they misrepresented their conversations and communication with CBS News."

I think CBS just called Ms. Will and Ms. James liars in a public press release.

Now, CBS has impugned the reputations of two individuals who have no such political concerns holding them back --- quite the contrary, their professional livelihoods depend on their reputations. And to make matters more fun, I'll bet they wouldn't qualify as public figures under defamation law, which makes their case easier against CBS.

Keep an eye on Will and James over the next few days... I'll betcha some enterprising lawyers will be showing up on their doorstep right about now...

PS: The truly interesting part of this theory is that once a lawsuit is actually in flight, all sorts of interesting things start happening --- like, for instance, legally-enforceable demands for documentation behind how CBS vetted the memos...