Well, the latest guess is Richard Clarke, who fits a "senior administration official" status. Novak also said the first person was not a "partisan gunslinger" - which could have fit Clarke, and that he and Novak had a "long conversation" - Clarke likes to talk, for sure.
Who knows? But I thought this comment reported today was curious:
“I have been told by my attorneys not to answer that question or any other questions about the CIA,” Novak said.
That answer could be read as meaning a "question about the CIA" includes the question who were the "senior administration officials."
Gotta yawn, 'cause Joe is boring me. Hey, Joe, I thought you already did this — didn't you blame Karl Rove awhile back? In any case, I hope whoever you name in your tome is totally innocent so he or she can sue your arse six ways from Sunday.
My initial thought, as well. But, remember, Novak says he called the CIA for confirmation of Plame's identity, got it...then was asked (not told) not to report it.
Novak has never revealed who he talked to in the CIA, either.
Wilson leaks the story to Kristof at the NY Times (5-6-03) who focuses on the Cheney connection. Next Wilson leaks it to Pincus at the Washington Post (6-12-03). Then Wilson himself, having set the table, appears as himself in an Op Ed in the NY Times (7-6-03). A week later Novak writes his column (7-14-03), names Plame and identifies her as an agency operative on WMD. And a week after that comes Phelps and Royce in Newsday (7-22-03) taking any mystery out of Novak's reference by identifying Plame as an undercover officer. In this article the authors said that the White House Press Secretary referred questions to the National Security Council.
It's funny to me that both Clarke and Wilson held their last positions at the NSC (which is where Wilson retired from in 1998, he was in charge of African Affairs). It's also funny to me that Wilson was in Baghdad (as a senior American diplomat) during the time another story fell into the lap of Royce (the Newsday journalist). Royce, citing a US diplomat, said the Saddam had wanted a diplomatic solution to avoid the first Gulf War and that the first Bush administration ignored his efforts.
Connecting the dots makes this all look orchestrated. I don't think Wilson and Clarke are the conductors, they both profile perfectly though as men who would be easily lured by the financial gains and media attention if so tempted.