If they lied to investigators. And that depends on what the investigators asked. And we don't have many of those questions, just those contained in the indictment.
Cooper told investigators that he heard of Plame before hearing it from Libby.
showing that the reporters were part of a setup to bait Libby and Rove into talking.
LOL. Pretty funny. I believe Libby willingly spoke to reporters, for what it's worth. And I'm not defending the reporters either - just pointing out that the indictment stands for the principle that one is expected to testify truthfully, or in the alternative, not at all. Miller took the latter route, and went to jail for her refusal to testify. Libby was under orders from the President to cooperate.
yes, Cooper said he heard it from Rove. that's not the "before" timeframe I'm interested in.
I don't know why you put so little credence into them being baited. the reporters only asked that question because they knew the answer already, that Wilson's wife was CIA. Had they known Wilson's wife to be a waitress, there would have been no context to asking about whether "Wilson's wife had anything to do with his Niger trip". That question only makes sense if you know Wilson's wife is in some position to have effected the assignment - like being a CIA agent in a WMD bureau. these reporters knew exactly what they were doing, and had that been made clear, the entire indictment would be viewed in a different context - or would have included the reporters. after all, if perjury is so important as you say, then its important for the reporters too.