TIME Magazine will soon be reporting the existence of an email which incriminates Dick Cheney of being involved in the arrangement of Halliburton’s billion-dollar no-bid contract for work in Iraq. If this is or can lead to a smoking gun, it would have serious ramifications for Cheney and for Bush, as Cheney was the former CEO of the company and still receives payments from the firm. In addition, when the obvious connection between Cheney and Halliburton was pointed out when Halliburton won the no-bid contract, Cheney denied through a spokesman that he was “involved in any way, shape or form in the contracting issue.”

However, the March 5, 2003 “internal Pentagon email from an Army Corps of Engineers official to another Pentagon employee” states in part: “[the contract is] contingent on informing WH [White House] tomorrow. We anticipate no issues since action has been coordinated w[ith] VP’s office.”

Naturally, Cheney’s people tried to weasel out of the mess, though surprisingly did not try to deny the email’s veracity; instead, they attempted to spin the meaning of the note, claiming the coordination” mentioned in the email was “that of publicly announcing the contract decision that has already been made.” Um, yeah, okay. Sorry, but that constitutes a “way shape or form,” even if you believe Cheney’s present claim.

The question is, will the media latch on to this one, or just let it wither away like the many other felonies and scandals in the wings?