STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Columnist Robert Novak Dies After Cancer Battle

CHICAGO (AP) — Conservative columnist Robert Novak has died after a battle with brain cancer.

Novak was long known as the co-host of CNN's "Crossfire" and a central figure in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case. He was 78.

His wife, Geraldine Novak, tells the Chicago Sun-Times that he died at his home in Washington on Tuesday.

He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2008, less than a week after he struck a pedestrian in downtown Washington with his Corvette and drove away.

Novak had been a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times for decades.

In recent years, he was perhaps best-known for being the first to publish the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame. He came under withering criticism and abuse from many for that column, which Novak says began "a long and difficult episode" in his career.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.