Could this apply to Wilson?
I'd guess Wilson's problem would be that he sent a friend to approach Novak on the street. Someone had said this was Larry Johnson. I'm betting that Novak smelled a setup and just pretended not to know Johnson. I'm also speculating that Novak knew Valerie Plame before she married Wilson. The use of the word "Operative" was carefully chosen by Novak, meaning Dem Operative" and it worked. He had pushed the button that made this Merry go round and the whole world knows that Valerie got Wilson the Niger Mission. What we don't know is who Valerie convinced that Joe was the right person. She couldn't have done it on her own.