Robert Novak

Last week, lawyers for Judith Miller and Matthew Cooper were in federal court fighting the reporters' jail sentences for refusing to disclose who leaked them the name of a CIA operative. So where was Robert D. Novak, the syndicated columnist, CNN talk-show host and uber-insider who started this mess back in July 2003? Citing sources in the administration, Novak had written that Valerie Plame, wife of a former U.S. diplomat critical of President Bush's Iraq policy, was a CIA spy.

Robert Novak, the longtime syndicated columnist and television commentator who was at the center of a furor late in his career as the first journalist to disclose the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, died today. He was 78. Novak died at his home in Washington after battling brain cancer, his family told the Associated Press. Novak was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2008. He told friends his doctors were not optimistic, but he opted for surgery anyway, telling them they were being too conservative.

Columnist Robert Novak broke his silence Monday about his disclosure of an undercover CIA operative's identity, defending himself against a former agency official's account that he twice warned Novak not to publish the name. In his syndicated column, Novak did not dispute that former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow had told him during conversations before his July 14, 2003, column, in which he named covert officer Valerie Plame, that he should not do so.

Columnist Robert Novak is retiring immediately because of a grim prognosis in his battle against a brain tumor. Novak, 77, a conservative Chicago Sun-Times political commentator whose columns are syndicated nationwide, was diagnosed with the tumor last week and admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He announced at the time that he was suspending his journalistic work "for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

White House senior advisor Karl Rove reportedly has told federal investigators that it was a newspaper columnist, rather than official sources, who told him the name of a covert CIA operative whose identity was later revealed in the media, touching off a criminal inquiry. Rove, a White House deputy chief of staff, told investigators that syndicated columnist Robert Novak gave him the name of the operative, Valerie Plame, a person familiar with his testimony said Friday.

Compared with other journalists, Robert Novak ("Robert Novak: How Does He Stay Out of Jail?" Opinion, Dec. 12) seems to enjoy a privileged status when it comes to having to reveal his sources. For what Novak has done (disclosing the identity of an American CIA agent) he should be charged with treason and brought to trial. After all, no one forced him to reveal what he knew. Novak chose to tattle-tale, in effect choosing to jeopardize America's security. Rich Linder Laguna Beach

Columnist Robert Novak said publicly for the first time Tuesday that White House political advisor Karl Rove was a source for his story outing the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. In a column, Novak also says his recollection of his conversation with Rove differs from what the Rove camp has said. "I have revealed Rove's name because his attorney has divulged the substance of our conversation, though in a form different from my recollection," Novak wrote.

Re "Judges Say Reporters Must Name Sources in CIA Case," Feb. 16: Are we losing our freedom? Now I see that journalists are being targeted by right-wing bloggers and courts. How are we going to get our news if you are all tied up by this right-wing plague that is infecting our free press? How long are Americans going to sit by and watch as our money and freedoms are consumed by this government? Carolyn Kay Lopez Santa Ana Why not Robert Novak? I just don't get it. Will someone please explain it to me?

I read the sports section to get away from politics and the "real world." When I want to hear about what crazy things Phil and Kobe are saying, and which pitcher the Dodgers recently overpaid, I know where to turn. However, in the light-hearted Morning Briefing of March 15, I found four references to politics. To make things worse, each one had a bias, with shots at Ann Coulter, Robert Novak, Mel Gibson and John McCain. Again, this is the Sports section. There's no need to see that here.

Journalist Robert Novak's status as a CNN contributor will remain unaffected during a federal probe into the revelation of a CIA officer's identity, executives at the news channel say. "I think we're all aware that no one really knows what's going on in the investigation of the Valerie Plame incident," said Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S. "So it would be awfully presumptuous of us to take steps against a guy in his career based on second-, third-, fourth-hand reporting."

Conservative columnist Robert Novak, a fixture on the Washington scene since the administration of John F. Kennedy, announced Monday that he has a brain tumor and will begin treatment soon. In the meantime, he said, "I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period." Novak, 77, became ill Sunday while he and his wife were visiting their daughter on Cape Cod.

I read the sports section to get away from politics and the "real world." When I want to hear about what crazy things Phil and Kobe are saying, and which pitcher the Dodgers recently overpaid, I know where to turn. However, in the light-hearted Morning Briefing of March 15, I found four references to politics. To make things worse, each one had a bias, with shots at Ann Coulter, Robert Novak, Mel Gibson and John McCain. Again, this is the Sports section. There's no need to see that here.

Almost three years ago, as Patrick J. Fitzgerald settled in as the newly appointed special counsel in charge of the Valerie Plame leak investigation, he learned a startling secret. Washington was ablaze with speculation about who had revealed Plame's identity as a covert CIA officer to syndicated columnist Robert Novak; senior White House officials were considered the likely culprits.

Columnist Robert Novak's decision to break his silence about his role in the CIA leak investigation has left one crucial question unanswered: Who was the administration official who gave him the tip that has occupied a special prosecutor and Beltway pundits for three years?

Columnist Robert Novak said publicly for the first time Tuesday that White House political advisor Karl Rove was a source for his story outing the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. In a column, Novak also says his recollection of his conversation with Rove differs from what the Rove camp has said. "I have revealed Rove's name because his attorney has divulged the substance of our conversation, though in a form different from my recollection," Novak wrote.

Robert Novak, the gruff-voiced political pundit and occasional loose cannon in a three-piece suit, is leaving CNN and going to work for Fox News. In the recent past, Novak has been making news more than commenting on it. In a controversial move, he printed the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame in a 2003 newspaper column, which triggered a full-fledged, multilayered investigation into who leaked that information.

Columnist Robert Novak is retiring immediately because of a grim prognosis in his battle against a brain tumor. Novak, 77, a conservative Chicago Sun-Times political commentator whose columns are syndicated nationwide, was diagnosed with the tumor last week and admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He announced at the time that he was suspending his journalistic work "for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

The White House on Thursday dismissed a claim by syndicated columnist Robert Novak that President Bush knew who revealed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. "I don't know what he's basing it on," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. He declined to comment further. Novak said Tuesday that the public and the media should be asking Bush about the source who named Plame rather than reporters who received the information.

Conservative pundit Robert Novak, whose 2003 column identifying a former CIA officer triggered an ongoing federal leak investigation, is leaving CNN at the end of the year, the network announced Friday. Novak, who is departing at the end of his 25th year at the network, will be taking a job as a commentator for rival Fox News in the beginning of 2006, he said in an interview.

The White House on Thursday dismissed a claim by syndicated columnist Robert Novak that President Bush knew who revealed the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. "I don't know what he's basing it on," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. He declined to comment further. Novak said Tuesday that the public and the media should be asking Bush about the source who named Plame rather than reporters who received the information.