From Raw Story:
The chief spokesman for Vice President Dick Cheney, Steve Schmidt, left the United States Oct. 3 and won't return until Oct. 26, just as the investigation into who outed a covert CIA agent wraps up.
[snip]
Schmidt's departure coincides with the final days of federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's inquiry into the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Fitzgerald's grand jury ends its session Oct. 28.
[snip]
The Vice President was noticeably absent from the fiftieth anniversary party last Thursday for the conservative standardbearer The National Review.
Senior Bush adviser Karl Rove, also fingered in the case, has been absent from recent public events, including the nomination of Hariet Miers to the Supreme Court. RAW STORY confirmed Rove's absence Oct. 9.
Those close to the investigation believe key White House figures may be deliberately keeping a low profile to create some distance between them and the president should any member of his team be indicted.
Schmidt on the road. Cheney AWOL from the National Review party. Rove staying out of the public eye. You do the math.