Seems the Novak article was up for a while on the Human Events website, long enough for CNN to read it and report on it on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. Here is what was said.

Novak doesn’t expose the original leaker (most likely Armitage) and will not because the source is holding him to his confidentiality promise

Novak got confirmation on Plame from Harwood at the CIA and Rove at the White House.

Novak did not resist testifying because Fitzgerald already knew his sources (all three). He also did not want to set the kind of precedent Miller and Cooper did in the end.

Novak was told by Fitzgerald that the case is basically over, so now Novak feels it is OK to discuss some details.

Novak talked to the FBI, Fitzgerald and the Grand Jury.

All his sources released him to discuss the details with the investigators. The prime source is holding out on going public, as I mentioned.

CNN talked to ex CIA Officials (probably whacko Larry Johnson) who said Harwood did not know about Plame’s position originally during his first call with Novak, and once he found out he called Novak back to talk him out of the story. [Right, like Harwood would always have a list of NOC agents being the CIA press spokesman. If Val needed cover, her name would not be immediately accessible to Harwood, or at least it would have a warning note on it).

Vanderhei from the Washington Post was on CNN and made a good point. The original source is pivotal to the claims that the Bush administration was out to get back at Wilson. If Armitage was the source then that claim pretty much crumbles. Given the lack of any indictments for the leak itself, and lack of indictments for Rove, the obvious conclusion is the prime source was Armitage.

More later once the actual article is up.

Update: More from the Washington Post. More at Editor & Publisher and this bit of news:

Drudge quoted what he appeared to claim was an additional part of the Novak column: “I learned Valerie Plame’s name from Joe Wilson’s entry in ‘Who’s Who in America’.

So, Novak got Plame’s name from a book? Some secret plan to get the Wilsons. Joe Wilson used his wife’s name when giving a contribution to Al Gore and exposed her undercover company in the process. Then he used her CIA name in his submission (knowing how Who’s Who works) to Who’s Who. Seems Joe Wilson outed Valerie.

Update: Seems Powerline also had access to the story for a while. Seems Armitage is the source the mystery source given this snippet:

In my sworn testimony, I said what I have contended in my columns and on television: Joe Wilson’s wife’s role in instituting her husband’s mission was revealed to me in the middle of a long interview with an official who I have previously said was not a political gunslinger. After the federal investigation was announced, he told me through a third party that the disclosure was inadvertent on his part.

Again, Novak’s prime source was not leaking to harm Plame, he probably knew who Plame was and her role (from one Marc Grossman, life long bud of Joe Wilson).

Update: Howard Kurtz teases out a few more details (at this rate the entire story will be out before it is published), including vindication for Rove:

A spokesman for Rove, Mark Corallo, said Novak’s account of phoning Rove confirms what the White House strategist has said. “Karl never reached out to any reporters,” Corallo said. “They called him.”

Novak said he and Rove had differing recollections of what happened when he asked about Plame. Novak recalls Rove saying, “Oh, you know that, too?” Rove, according to Corallo, has said he responded, “I’ve heard that, too.”

Anyone see any important difference between the Rove and Novak recollections? Geez, is this what Fitz fittered our tax dollars chasing down for so many years? Weren’t there any terrorist plots to uncover and stop? What a moron.