Robert Novak

Robert David Novak (born February 26, 1931) is an American journalist and political figure. Over his lengthy career, Bob Novak has become well-known both as a reporter and columnist (writing "Inside Report" since 1963) and as a television personality (appearing on many shows for CNN, most notably The Capital Gang, Crossfire, and Novak, Hunt, and Shields. His nickname is "The Prince of Darkness".

Controversies and scandals

Novak has been frequently criticized as acting as a political operative of the Republican Party while posing as a journalist; his controversial public comments and actions both on and off the air have provoked critics from many groups. Novak also has been implicated in a number of political scandals and violations of journalistic ethics and standards, the most famous of which is the Plame affair.

Related Topics:
Republican Party - Political scandal - Journalistic ethics and standards - Plame affair

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• 1972 George McGovern

After a published anonymous quote from a Democratic senator calling 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern as being for "acid, amnesty, and abortion" was contested as fabricated, critics began deriding Evans and Novak's work as "Errors and No Facts."

Related Topics:
1972 presidential candidate - George McGovern - Acid - Amnesty - Abortion

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• 1980 and 1992 Karl Rove, Novak connections

Twice Novak was reportedly involved in situations leading to Karl Rove being fired from political campaigns: first in 1980 from George H.W. Bush's vice-presidential campaign, and second in 1992, while working for Bush's reelection campaign. Both times Rove was fired from the staff for leaking campaign information to Novak. Rove and Novak both deny that Rove was the source.http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/stories/071305dntexoldrove.11c053e.html

Related Topics:
Karl Rove - George H.W. Bush

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• 1996 and 2001 Robert Hanssen

Novak's loyalty to his sources was called into question after he revealed Robert Hanssen as the confidential source for some of his articles. Hanssen had served as the source for a column which attacked Janet Reno's role in an alleged cover-up of a campaign finance scandal in 1996.(New York Observer, August 6 2001) Ironically, Novak indicated at the time that he felt justified in 'burning' his source because Hanssen was a traitor — he had been found guilty of selling state secrets, including the identities of covert operatives, to the Soviet Union. Novak also wondered whether he had been "set up" by Hanssen.

Related Topics:
Robert Hanssen - Confidential source - Janet Reno - Campaign finance - New York Observer - August 6 - 2001 - Soviet Union

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• 2003-current Plame Affair

In 2003, he disclosed the identity of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame in his newspaper column. Novak reported the information was provided to him by "senior administration officials." The leak and allegations of a possible cover-up are currently being investigated. During 2005, there have been questions in the press regarding the apparent absence of focus on Novak by the special prosecutor Fitzgerald and the grand jury, specifically questions suggesting he may have already testified about his sources despite insisting publicly that he would not do so. Alternatively, it has been speculated, Fitzgerald is ultimately planning to target Novak for possibly colluding with his White House sources to tell the same story regarding the leak, which if true would constitute obstruction of justice.

Related Topics:
CIA - Covert agent - Valerie Plame - 2005 - Obstruction of justice

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:*Main articles at: Plame affair, Plame scandal timeline

Related Topics:
Plame affair - Plame scandal timeline

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• 2004-current Killian documents

Critics complain that Novak has been inconsistent as he insists it would violate journalistic ethics to reveal the source of the Plame leak, but later called on CBS to reveal the source of the memos where were part of the larger news story dealing with the president's evasion of National Guard service.

Related Topics:
Plame leak - CBS - Source - President's - National Guard

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• March, 2004 race baiting of Richard Clarke

In March 2004, Novak insinuated on CNN's Crossfire that Richard Clarke had revealed government mistakes in his book dealing with the war against terrorism because he resented Condoleezza Rice's position as a black woman on the cabinet. http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/25/cf.00.html

Related Topics:
Richard Clarke - Condoleezza Rice

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• August, 2004 Swift Boat Veterans publisher also Novak's

In August 2004, after other journalists had reported on it, Novak admitted that his son, Alex Novak, is the Director of Marketing for the Swift Boat Veterans' publisher, Regnery Publishing. At the time he said that he didn't "think it relevant." Two months later Salon.com reported that Regnery's owner is also the publisher of Novak's own US$297 (annual rate) newsletter and that Novak is on the board of a foundation whose chief holdings are the stock of Regnery's parent company. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/01/novak/print.html

Related Topics:
Swift Boat Veterans - Regnery Publishing - Salon.com

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• May, 2005, Senate filibuster debate

In May 2005, Novak raised a stir when he used a Holocaust analogy to attack the negotiations between several Democratic and Republican Senators to reach a compromise in an ongoing debate over the filibustering of judicial nominations. The compromise would reportedly involve several Democrats agreeing to support the confirmation of some, but not all, of the nominees that they had previously filibustered, in return for several Republicans agreeing to vote against a proposed rules change that would remove the filibuster entirely (the "nuclear option"). Novak said agreeing to confirm some of the judges but not others was "...like going to a concentration camp and picking out which people go to the death chamber", a comparison the Anti-Defamation League termed "abhorrent" in demanding an apology. http://adl.org/PresRele/HolNa_52/4715_52.htm

Related Topics:
Holocaust - Filibuster - Nuclear option - Anti-Defamation League

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