Posted on 07/27/2005 8:43:30 PM PDT by nickcarraway
NEW YORK Columnist Robert Novak, who first announced Valerie Plame's name to the world as a CIA agent two years ago, has been virtually mum about it ever since, not even confirming that he testified before a grand jury and told all.
But on Tuesday, appearing on CNN's Inside Poltics with Candy Crowley, he did respond, in brief, when she suddenly veered off into forbidden Plame territory. The transcript follows:
CROWLEY: I wanted to talk to you about the CIA leak story, because a couple of things have come out that I wanted to see if I could get you to talk about. The first one is that there is a story out there that Karl Rove testified that you were the one that told him that Valerie Plame was at the CIA.
NOVAK: Well I can't talk about anything that I have done. But I would say that it's, to me, very interesting that all these leaks on the grand jury are not coming from the grand jury, or, as far as I know, or from the special prosecutor, they are coming from lawyers for various people who are participating in it, or the participants themselves. Which is a little bit on the unusual side.
The question is, really, political question, is Karl Rove in serious trouble because of this? And you get all kinds of views, but the consensus in the Republicans I talked to is that if the word is coming out from the White House he doesn't have any legal problems he's not going to be prosecuted. If that's right, I have no idea whether that's right, I think he's going to be OK. He's not going to be popular with the people who are attacking him anyway.
I noticed that this has revived the whole story which is the reason I haven't been on television very much lately. And so all things might have a happy consequence, but it has revived the story and the Democrats are trying to make a lot of it. But I think this is a hard story to keep alive until the grand jury and special prosecutor came up with something.
CROWLEY: Well outside whether you testify -- I assume you can't tell us whether you testified at the grand jury or still won't tell us. Outside of that, can you tell us whether you ever told Karl Rove about Valerie Plame's status?
NOVAK: I can't tell anything I ever talked to Karl Rove about, because I don't think I ever talked to him about any subject even the time of day, on the record.
CROWLEY: Stay tuned. Will you come back and tell us when you can tell us?
NOVAK: That would be my pleasure.
It tells me that Novak has nothing he can attribute to Karl Rove.
Hmmmm...Kovak's comment doesn't tell me sh%t!
NOVAK: "I can't tell anything I ever talked to Karl Rove about, because I don't think I ever talked to him about any subject even the time of day, on the record."
Is Novak saying he never talked about any subject "on the record" with Rove or "on the record" he never talked to Rove, about any subject?
That's what the RATS will assume, but I don't think so.
Ping
I think he is saying that they talked, but off the record. Novak won't discuss off-the-record conversations. But Rove reportedly testified to the grand jury that he first heard Plame's name from Novak.
- Hint, hint?
course, he could be saying "on the record" as in on the record with Crowley.
Sounds like that was a no from Novac, about telling Rove.
He tends to ramble when he talks.
Novak's comments about not speaking to Rove on any subject on the record means he never used him as a source. Off the record with a source means you don't talk about OR write about what you talked about.
I am completely confused, because I thought Rove was his "confirming" source on his July 14, 2003 column. Novak wrote that he confirmed the Plame story with a second Senior administration official. He wrote that he told this source about what he had heard about Plame, Wilson and Niger and the source said "I heard that too!" That really doesn't sound like a confirmation of a story to me. It sounds like gossip.
This is a very interesting case and I hope we find some answers soon. I think the administration will be completely cleared. Will their be any apologies from the press and Democrats (which are the same thing) for their slander and libel of the Rove, the Prez and his administration.
Don't hold your breath, but WE won't let them forget. They can join Rather in his playroom.
Correct.
kovaks? did you mention kovaks?
http://www.laugh.com/gimages/comics/kovaks_ernie_photo.jpg
Novak's "confirming officail was Larry Harlow IMO...
Solfeggio! :)
http://www.earthstation1.com/pgs/themes/des-solfeggio.wav.html
All roads lead to Wilson or Plame being the ones who leaked her identity in order to create this phoney scandal.
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