If Novak talked now about the Plame case what is the worst that would happen to him ?
I know that freedom to gather information is part of the Constitution's guarantee of free speech. Novak does not want to cause his 40 year career as a reporter to be soiled from revealing a source. Such would be a cardinal sin for the profession he is in. The liberal press would try to run Novak out of town on a rail for violating a cardinal rule.
Novak believes that the Bush Administration already knows who his source is. It would surprise him if President Bush does not know. However, Novak could, on conditions of the same anonymity he gives his source, tell the President who his source is and clear this entire mess up. The Administation could then say, they suspected who the source was all along, but need a few more facts to be sure. That would get Novak off the hook and put this saga behind us.