"Nobody in the Bush administration called me to leak this," Novak said on "Crossfire." "There is no great crime here..."
"...Bob Novak called me before he went to print with the report and he said a CIA source had told him that my wife was an operative," Wilson said. "He was trying to get a second source. He couldn't get a second source. Could I confirm that? And I said no."
Wilson said he called Novak after the article appeared citing sources in the Bush administration.
"What was it, CIA or senior administration?" Wilson said he asked Novak. "He said to me, 'I misspoke the first time I spoke to you.' "
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/09/29/novak.cia/
That goes to the heart of the matter. Wilson claims that his wife was outed to punish him for telling the truth about the war. In fact, there was no concerted campaign to out his wife and judging from the indictment, the subject didn't even come up with reporters like Russert.
I do find it interesting that Russert had the chutzpah to interview Cooper (Mr. Mandy Grunwald) on MTP after his GJ appearance. Reading the transcript one would think that Russert was just an observer in this investigation, but as it turns out, he was a key player. I wonder how much collusion and discussions were held among them about Wilson/Plame.