According to the
NY Times, Rove has told investigators that he was given Valerie Plame's name by Bob Novak...
Karl Rove, the White House senior adviser, spoke with the columnist Robert D. Novak as he was preparing an article in July 2003 that identified a C.I.A. officer who was undercover, someone who has been officially briefed on the matter said Thursday.
Mr. Rove has told investigators that he learned from the columnist the name of the C.I.A. officer, who was referred to by her maiden name, Valerie Plame, and the circumstances in which her husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, traveled to Africa to investigate possible uranium sales to Iraq, the person said.
After hearing Mr. Novak's account, the person who has been briefed on the matter said, Mr. Rove told the columnist: "I heard that, too."
The previously undisclosed telephone conversation, which took place on July 8, 2003, was initiated by Mr. Novak, the person who has been briefed on the matter said...
Update [2005-7-14 23:33:18 by Rimjob]:
The source of this information would be an interesting question to find out. Is it someone inside the investigation who knows Rove's testimony, or is it someone inside the White House who's heard Rove's explanation of what he claims happened?
...The person who provided the information about Mr. Rove's conversation with Mr. Novak declined to be identified, citing requests by Mr. Fitzgerald that no one discuss the case. The person discussed the matter in the belief that Mr. Rove was truthful in saying he did not disclose Ms. Wilson's identity.
On Oct. 1, 2003, Mr. Novak wrote another column in which he described calling two officials. The first source, who is unknown, was described by Mr. Novak as "no partisan gunslinger" who provided the outlines of the story. The second, confirming source, Mr. Novak wrote, responded, "Oh, you know about it."
That second source was Mr. Rove, the person briefed on the matter said, although Mr. Rove's account to investigators about what he told Mr. Novak was slightly different. Mr. Rove recalled telling Mr. Novak: "I heard that, too."
Asked by investigators how he knew enough to leave Mr. Novak with the impression that his information was accurate, Mr. Rove said he heard portions of the story from other journalists, but had not heard Ms. Wilson's name...
This conversation with Novak happened
BEFORE Matt Cooper's conversation with Rove...
The conversation with Mr. Novak took place three days before Mr. Rove spoke with Matthew Cooper, a Time magazine reporter, whose e-mail message about their conversation reignited the issue. In the message, whose contents were reported by Newsweek this week, Mr. Cooper said to his editors that Mr. Rove had talked about Ms. Wilson, although not by name...
Update [2005-7-14 23:51:35 by Rimjob]:
Here's pure speculation on my part, but I'm wondering whether the heart of the investigation is now a testimony conflict between Rove & Novak?
Rove may have went into the Grand Jury & claimed that Novak was his source for this information. When Novak was called before the Grand Jury, he might have cited privilige at first, but Fitzgerald then confronts him with Rove's testimony. Novak trying to save his ass claimed that it was the other way around, and that Rove told him Plame's name. This might explain why Novak has looked so squeamish when this issue has been put to him.
Maybe Fitzgerald is trying to figure out who's telling the truth between Novak & Rove?