Neoconfederate,
I think the link provided is just as speculative as the two I have provided. The one link I provided (the second one) makes the case the General 'the beast' Butler had already seen Lincoln and members of the cabinet with a plan to raid Richmond and capture Davis and the Confederate cabinet, but still held to the idea that killing Davis and company was despicable and not war, but murder. At least this is considered the general view of killing heads of state in the 19th century, it was just not to be done.
While I agree that perhaps, and I am really grasping here, Stanton may have been involved, and I won't totally buy into that without more proven evidence, I am of the same belief of General Meade, that Gen. Kilpatrick and Col. Dahlgren for certain had planned to kill Davis and members of his cabinet, if the raid had succeded in getting through the Richmond defenses.
I am also of the opinion that there was a plan, or series of plans, to try and kidnap President Lincoln, but whether Davis ordered it or knew of it, I cannot be sure of, mainly because there is still no real evidence. But as for the idea the Confederate government or Secret Service advocated the assassination of President Lincoln, I don't buy it. Southern honor, sense of fair play and 19th century morals seems to go against the whole thing and Davis being the man he was would never go along with such an idea.
Unionblue