Armchair Pundits

Update

Here is Novak's column regarding his role in the "leak" investigation. It should be noted that Rove also served as a principal confirmation source of Plame's identity. So to recap, Novak learns Valerie Plame's name from her husband's entry in Who's Who. A yet unidentified source, inadvertently implicates Plame in getting her husband, Joe Wilson sent on a fact finding expedition to Niger (like a "diplomatic mission to Alderan" but different). Harlow and Rove, serve to confirm that Plame is indeed in the employ of the CIA. All three sources are known by independant prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald.

This being said, Novak concludes: "That Fitzgerald did not indict any of these sources may indicate his conclusion that none of them violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. "

A conclusion also speculated by these pages.

Furthermore, Novak defends his actions and confirms that: "Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue."

So we have a first-person denial of rampant journalistic and media accusations as merely unfoundeded speculation, which in my book equals a lie. Of course, such commentary on the part of MSM exists for the public's right to know doesn't it? Actually, all it amounts to is a coordinated but shoddy attempt at a smear campaign.

posted by Grisby @ 9:22 AM