Update #2 & Correction: It now appears that the three sources below are wrong. Last night I ran across a post at MyDD, by janfel, which basically has the same story, only with a date of 1992 and with Rove being fired by the Bush/Quayle campaign.
After looking around in vain for corroboration of the 1992 date, I finally got the idea to email Wayne Slater, who authored (along with James Moore) Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential. He was kind enough to email me back almost immediately, saying that he believes the reference to 1980 to be an error, and that the 1992 incident is recounted in his book.
Mr. Slater has a very informative column in today's Dallas Morning News on the subject of Karl Rove - 'Mark of Rove': Attack, leave no trail - and it touches on the 1992 incident.
July 11 -- UPDATE: It's been a while since I saw Bush's Brain, so I checked the review, which I just linked, and sure enough the story about Karl Rove leaking to Novak in 1980 is in the famed documentary.
Little wonder I didn't recall that Rove and Novak have such a long history what with all the other nasty politics Bush's Brain, or Karl Rove, is guilty of. If you haven't seen the documentary, now's a good time to call Blockbuster. You may have to take a number. (Here's another source, but not as much fun as Bush's Brain, charging that Rove was fired for leaking to Novak.
Turns out Rove and Novak go way back.
From the Mount Vernon News:
"Rove has been caught leaking before. During the 1980 presidential race, he was fired from the Reagan-Bush campaign for passing secrets to journalist Robert Novak, who is at the heart of the current contretemps."
More on Rove's Dirty Past:
"Rove’s history of political tactics is long and well-documented. In Texas, he was suspected of planting a listening device in his office and blaming a rival campaign. When Bush ran against Democrat Ann Richards for governor, there were unfounded rumors about her personal life, a Rove trademark as it turns out. The same Rove-inspired character smears were evident against McCain in the 2000 South Carolina primary. When the Plame story broke, Bush could have summoned his top aides and demanded to know the culprit who leaked Plame’s identity to Novak. There is no indication that he did that because he couldn’t afford to know the answer."
Why Rove Should be Fired - Again:
"According to Cooper's email, Rove did leak classified information, wittingly or not. Did he share that fact with Bush? If McClellan can be believed, Rove did not. If that's true, Bush should dismiss Rove for holding out on him. "
Tag: karl rove
