Reporter Robert Novak indicated on Meet the Press that he is upset with his source (who might be Richard Armitage) for choosing to remain anonymous.  And I think that I just figured out the motivation for Isikoff's Newsweek article.

This weekend, a Newsweek article by Michael Isikoff indicated that Richard Armitage, former Deputy Secretary of State under Colin Powell, might have been the one that leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame to reporter Robert Novak.  The blogosphere has been buzzing all weekend about it.

So on the NBC Sunday program Meet the Press, host Tim Russert tried to get guest Robert Novak to confirm that Richard Armitage was indeed the source he used in his July 14, 2003 article that led to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.  Novak refused to answer the question, saying that his source would have to "identify himself."  However, without revealing his source, Novak did suggest that he was growing rather frustrated that his source has waited so long without saying anything.

After you watch the video, read what I wrote at the bottom -- because I have a theory about why the Isikoff article about his new book Hubris was written in the first place.

Click to watch video clip (YouTube)

--- Partial Transcript ---

RUSSERT: "Are you now prepared to say, confirm Newsweek, that Richard Armitage was one of your sources?"

NOVAK: "I told Mr. Isikoff, the very good investigative reporter by the way, I told him that I do not identify my sources on any subject if they are on a confidential basis until they identity themselves.  I don't say somebody was or wasn't.  I'm going to say one thing though I haven't said before, and that is I believe time is way past for my source to identify himself."

It's interesting how Robert Novak referred to Isikoff, who wrote the Newsweek article about Armitage, as a "very good investigative reporter."  By phrasing it that way, Novak is giving us plausible reason to suggest that he even encouraged Isikoff to write the Newsweek article as a method of getting Armitage to hurry up and talk.  Novak wants this leak story over with ASAP so that he can get on with his career.  Armitage, or whoever Novak's source is, has been sitting on the sidelines for so long.  By saying that he has no beef with Isikoff, who wrote a very detailed column and book about the CIA leak story, Novak is sending the message to Armitage that the former CNN reporter has ways of getting him to talk -- such as getting reporters like Isikoff to write columns about Armitage.  Putting it simply, Novak is pissed at Armitage.  If I were putting money on it, I would expect Novak's source, assuming that it is Armitage, to out himself within the next few days or so.
---------------------------------------------------
Other sites blogging about the CIA leak scandal: Liberty Street, Flopping Aces, Wot is it Good 4, Letter from Here, The Democratic Daily, Just one Minute, The Next Hurrah, The Texas Rainmaker, Firedoglake, David Corn, Needlenose, Angry Bear, Captain's Quarters, The Virginian, Left Word, Ace of Spades HQ, Booman Tribune, Cracks in the Facade, ReBelle Nation, True Blue Liberal, Cannonfire, Good People Better Rise Up, War and Peace, The Nation, The ITT List, The Daily Background, The Strata-Sphere, Progressive Blog Digest, Reality Based Educator.