Mitchell's arrest hit the news at two in the afternoon.
Webb broke it first, a follow-up piece that ran forty minutes ahead of every other outlet, because Webb had sources inside the federal building where Mitchell had been processed and those sources had been cultivated over years for exactly this kind of moment. The piece was precise and detailed and named names beyond Mitchell, three deputies, two federal judges who had signed off on program-related orders over the years, one sitting senator whose office had received classified briefings about the program's activities and had raised no objection.
Francis read it at Hale's table with Sarah beside him and Emma on the floor with the dogs, who had accepted her completely and immediately in the way that dogs accept children they have decid
