Heh….David Corn has a fantasy:

“imagine if Novak were to take the stand and face a pit-bull defense attorney. That would be delicious. The attorney could ask him about his work habits. For instance, why did he not take notes when he interviewed Richard Armitage? Is that routine for him? And how often does he talk to Karl Rove? What sort of tips does Rove provide him? Does Novak trade information with White House and Republican sources for leads? What confirmation does he require before he publishes political gossip in his column? Why did he change his public explanation of the Valerie Wilson leak several times? And so on. Could he withstand the treatment that Miller and Cooper got?”

One might ask the same of the clairvoyant Corn who from the beginning had knowledge of Wilson/Plame than is humanly possible. Again to the wayback machine, as Cliff May wrote:

“Since Novak did not report that Plame was ‚Äúworking covertly‚Äù how did Corn know that‚Äôs what she had been doing?

Corn does not tell his readers and he has responded to a query from me only by pointing out that he was asking a question, not making a “statement of fact.” But in the article, he asserts that Novak “outed” Plame “as an undercover CIA officer.” Again, Novak did not do that. Rather, it is Corn who is, apparently for the first time, “outing” Plame’s “undercover” status.

Corn follows that assertion with a quote from Wilson saying, “I will not answer questions about my wife.” Any reporter worth his salt would immediately wonder: Did Wilson indeed answer Corn’s questions about his wife — after Corn agreed not to quote his answers but to use them only on background? Read the rest of Corn’s piece and it’s difficult to believe anything else. Corn names no other sources for the information he provides — and he provides much more information than Novak revealed.

Corn also claims that Wilson “will not confirm nor deny that his wife …works for the CIA.” Corn adds: “But let’s assume she does. That would seem to mean that the Bush administration has screwed one of its own top-secret operatives in order to punish Wilson …”

On what basis could Corn “assume” that Plame was not only working covertly but was actually a “top-secret” operative? And where did Corn get the idea that Plame had been “outed” in order to punish Wilson? That is not suggested by anything in the Novak column which, as I noted, is sympathetic to Wilson and Plame.

The likely answer: The allegation that someone in the administration leaked to Novak as a way to punish Wilson was made by Wilson ‚Äî to Corn.”

Ah yes, Corn - much the architect himself - on the stand, what a sight that would be.