July 9, 2007
Novak Cashes in With New Tell-All Book
Now we know why Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak kept quiet for so long about who told him CIA Agent Valerie Plame's name; he needed to save that information (at least until 2006) so he could one day publish a tell-all book. Well done, Novak, well done.
Novak's book, The Prince of Darkness, (which should not be confused with the Ozzy Osbourne box set of the same name) chronicles Novak's 50 years of work as a reporter along the beltway. Fifty years? We knew he was old, but we didn't realize he was 76! Novak has been playing this game for a long, long time.
What juicy gossip is revealed in the Peoria native's book? "A little bit of Bob Novak goes a long way, so readers of Novak's new 672-page memoir of his life in journalism should be forewarned there is little he has left out," says political journalist Scott Jacobs. Anyone who has spent 50 years in Washington surely has a bevy of fascinating and scandalous tales, especially someone who has made their name as a Washington insider with the latest gossip.
Novak's writings on the "Plame affair" bookend his memoir. Novak managed to avoid the scrutiny of Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald when the NYT's Judith Miller, Time's Matt Cooper, NBC's Tim Russert, and Washington Post's Walter Pincus and Glenn Kessler all were questioned, with Miller ultimately going to prison for 85 days for refusing to name her sources. According to Novak, he was told of Plame's identity by Richard Armitage, then deputy secretary of state (this isn't new news per se, just repackaging of old stuff). Armitage reached out to Novak regarding Plame's identity before Joseph Wilson's NYT op-ed criticizing the Bush administration ran.
"After ... Fitzgerald ... indicated to me he knew Armitage was my source, I cooperated fully with him," writes Novak. "At the special prosecutor's request and on my lawyers' advice, I kept silent about this — a silence that subjected me to much abuse." Sorry, Novak, you aren't getting any sympathy from us.
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who is the Peoria native?
Novak is.
"Armitage told him Plame's identity before Joseph Wilson's NYT op-ed criticizing the Bush administration."
Armitage leaked to Novak on July 8, 2003; Wilson's op-ed ran two days earlier on July 6, 2003.
Pantagrapher - that is my understanding as well. Did I get something wrong?
The sentence I quoted (from the post above) has it backward. I think you meant after, not before.
How could Armitage tell Novak about Plame on July 8, 2003, but do so "before Josepph Wilson's NYT op-ed," which appeared on July 6, 2003?
Republican scientists and their pesky time machines! Grr!
My bad, my bad. I meant to write "reached out", not told. I've corrected to the post.
I don't mean to be a pest, but it's still inaccurate. While Armitage reached out to Novak before the op-ed, how could he have done so "regarding Plame's identity," since Armitage claims he uttered that information by accident during the July 8 conversation?
Novak is from Joliet, not Peoria
My sense from reading this article (http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/459624,CST-NWS-prince08.article) is that Armitage called him into the office to tell him about Plame. It may just be the way Novak writes it, but because of the timing, Novak's surprise in being granted an interview, and the way he describes Armitage's glee in telling him, my sense from reading the piece is that Armitage called him in specifically to leak the info.
I could be reading it incorrectly, though, which I am more than willing to cop to if I am.
Rocking the orange and blue tie on the cover. Why does the most famous non-sports person showing the love for the U of I also have to be such a douche?
#11: He didn't graduate, if that is any solace to you...
LO - I wish that were true but the internets say otherwise.
I promise, I'm not normally bad at reading/googling. The Jacob's piece says he was one credit shy. Maybe he was wrong?
Stop being a brat Pantagrapher.
Was it the same article that said he was from Peoria and not from Joliet? Because he's from Joliet.
Lauren needs to give up on that whole accuracy thing, I think.
I guess #17 needs to give up on the whole accuracy thing as well, as her first name is LAURA not Lauren. Also, he wasn't from either Peoria or Joliet. On looking at his autobiography, one can see he was hatched deep in the heart of Mordor at Mount Doom, and the only degree he received was from the Witch King of Angmar, the head Nazgul.
The only accurate posts today have been from Laura and #18
It's a shame that he, like Bob Woodward, once again, has held need-to-know information from the public to sell more copies of his book. This is a complete breach of journalistic ethics and I'm surprised more folks aren't calling him out on it.
is that so, #18? I'd say #9 and #16 are pretty accurate.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/bio-novak.article
"Robert D. Novak was born February 26, 1931 in Joliet, Illinois."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Novak
"Novak was born into a Jewish family in Joliet, Illinois."
http://www.answers.com/topic/robert-novak
"Born: 26 February 1931; Birthplace: Joliet, Illinois"
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0636912/
"Date of Birth:
26 February 1931, Joliet, Illinois, USA"
His book could've used the Jon Stewart-coined My Life as the Douchebag of Liberty as a more accurate title. He's a chief representative of everything that's wrong with the Beltway press corps.