He said a source in the CIA leak investigation had phoned him this morning to release him from his pledge of confidentiality and encouraged him to testify. That source is believed to be White House political strategist Karl Rove, who has acknowledged speaking with Cooper but has denied unmasking the CIA agent's identity.
and
Another reporter who had been facing jail time on the same matter, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, agreed today to testify to a grand jury about his confidential source on the same matter, thus avoiding jail. Mr. Cooper said he had decided to do so only because his source specifically released him from promises of confidentiality just before today's hearing.
--
Mr. Cooper told the judge that he had been prepared to go to jail until shortly before the hearing.
"Last night I hugged my son good-bye and told him it might be a long time before I see him again," Mr. Cooper said. But just before today's hearing, he had received "in somewhat dramatic fashion" a direct personal communication from his source freeing him from his commitment to keep the source's identity secret.
"It's with a bit of surprise and no small amount of relief that I will comply with the subpoena," he told the judge.
and
Separately, the White House correspondent for Time magazine, Matthew Cooper, said he would testify, breaking two years of silence, after his source consented in a "very sudden development" Wednesday morning....
"I went to bed ready to accept the sanctions" for not testifying, Cooper said. But he told the judge that not long before his early afternoon appearance, he had received "in somewhat dramatic fashion" a direct personal communication from his source freeing him from his commitment to keep the source's identity secret.
He lied directly to the judge. I remembered the first reports were from reporters who had been in the courtroom and they breathlessly stated what he had told the judge.
Then out he came repeating it all at that bank of microphones, biting his lip and practically wiping a tear from his eye.
I will probably miss that Senate hearing next week. For once I'm glad. I don't think I could take it.