Novak: Haven't spoken to primary source since interview.
Russert: You said some time ago that admin. official gave me her name.
Novak: That's a mistatement on my part. He told me it was his wife, not her name. I got the name from Who's Who.
Russert: They told you his wife but no name?
Novak: Yes. They didn't call her a covert operative.
Russert: Harlow, CIA official, says after Novak's call he checked Plame's status and confirmed she was an undercover operative and told Novak and he shouldn't use her name. But Harlow says he didn't (didn't catch it)
Novak: That's not testimony. It's an interview with the WaPo reporters. I still think she wasn't covert and other people in the CIA have told me that.
Russert: But she was under cover.
Novak: She was doing analysis at the CIA, not covert.
Russert: Neighbord didn't know she worked for the CIA.
Novak: Lots of people knew she worked at the CIA. She was outted by traitor Alrich Ames years ago.
Harlow said if she was to go overseas it would be embarrassing for her but it's highly unlikely she'll ever go abroad for the CIA. He never said she wasin danger. If he had called me or put Tenet on the phone and asked me not to run it, I wouldn't have run it.
Russert: Do you regret running the column?
Novak: I'd prefer not to be the center of news, I don't know.
Novak wrote a column ( Colin Powell's Legacy ) which includes lots of quotes by Powell. So, assuming Novak doesn't change his story again (big assumption), and assuming Novak didn't get the quotes from Nexis/Lexus , then Powell can be ruled out as the primary source.
Did you pick up the fact that Harlow is now an adviser for NBC?