If the inner-circle staff of the White House are being questioned by a grand jury in a matter of national security, would the people's interest be better served by deferring the confirmation SDoC's replacement until the investigation is concluded?  

After all, her resignation is effective as of the appointment of her replacement; I'm sure that Justice O'Connor would agree that matters of national security warrant attention ahead of SCOTUS nominations, and justify a delay of a few months while this is resolved.

Why did the White House advance the timetable for this nomination?  Please explain this action in light of the memo stating that this was being done to lessen media scrutiny of Karl Rove's involvement in the Plame/Wilson issues.

-AG