Political commentator and U.S. journalist Robert Novak has died at the age of 78.

The conservative debater, who often appeared on American television and was the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, passed away at his home in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday (18Aug09) after battling brain cancer.

The longtime Chicago Sun-Times columnist was involved in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case scandal in recent years after publishing the name of the CIA employee in his column in 2003. Although it is illegal for anyone to distribute classified information under U.S. law, Novak was never charged with the crime. Novak, who received heavy criticism for the article, described it as the start of "a long and difficult episode" in his career. (KD/WNWCHR/KL)

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