Novakula fingers Junior in Plame treason case

Syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak, who has repeatedly declined to discuss his role in disclosing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, said in a speech this week that he is certain President Bush knows who his mystery administration source is.

Novak said Tuesday that the public and press should be asking the president about the official rather than pressing journalists who received the information.

Novak also suggested that the administration official who gave him the information is the same person who mentioned Plame and her CIA role to Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward in the summer of 2003.

"I'm confident the president knows who the source is," Novak told a luncheon audience at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, according to an account published yesterday in the Raleigh News & Observer. "I'd be amazed if he doesn't."

"So I say, don't bug me. Don't bug Bob Woodward. Bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is," Novak said.

While this may seem like a little blip on the media radar screen, it has the potential of being the beginning of Bush being impeached. (now before you leap out of your chair, I said, "potential")

If it leaks or can be proven that Novak's assertion is true, Bush has known the identity of the person who essentially committed a treasonous felony all along, then this has major implications.

First of all, as is almost a given these days, it would prove that Bush is a lying duplicitous liar and all his statements about wanting to get to the bottom of this, how he'd immediately fire whoever was involved (later changed to anyone charged with a crime) were typical BS.

Secondly, in a legal context, it would be evidence that he himself was impeding and withholding information vital from a federal investigation, most certainly a chargable offense.

Any more learned opinions on where this could go?

For those not up to speed on this, there's many good links to background and main players in the rather convoluted case at the link above.