Political Columnist Robert Novak Has Brain Tumor

Political columnist Robert Novak announced Monday that he has a brain tumor, and will temporarily stop writing and making TV appearances. Novak and his wife had been visiting their daughter near Cape Cod over the weekend when Novak fell ill.

Per the New York Times, the commentator released a statement Monday, saying, "On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment."

The news of Novak's tumor comes less than a week after he struck a homeless man with his Corvette and kept driving until a bicyclist stopped him. A doctor tells the AP that spatial and visual troubles are sometimes indicative of tumors in the brain.

Novak, 77, is considered one of the country's leading political experts. He has had a syndicated column for decades, was a cohost of CNN's Crossfire and published a memoir, Prince of Darkness, last year. Novak was also widely criticized in 2003 for his outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose husband had questioned the Bush administration's use of intelligence prior to the Iraq war. - Anna Dimond