By: E&P Staff Two surprising developments involving journalists and Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald surfaced late yesterday.
Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus, who had been subpoenaed to testify to a grand jury in the Valerie Plame/CIA leak inquiry, instead gave a deposition yesterday in which he recounted his conversation with a key source, whom he previously identified as an "administration official."
Pincus said he did not identify the source and agreed to be questioned only with the source's approval.
"I understand that my source has already spoken to the special prosecutor about our conversation on July 12 [2003], and that the special prosecutor has dropped his demand that I reveal my source. Even so, I will not testify about his or her identity," Pincus said in a statement.
"The source has not discharged us from the confidentiality pledge," said Executive Editor Leonard Downie, Jr.
Also yesterday, Fitzgerald sent new subpoenas for documents and testimony to Time magazine and its reporter Matthew Cooper.
Cooper, threatened with jail for contempt of court, agreed to questioning three weeks ago about conversations he had with I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a senior aide to Vice President Cheney.
"Pincus answered questions about Libby as well," the Washington Post reported this morning. "Both he and Cooper said they did so with Libby's approval."
Both said that their conversations with Libby did not touch on the identity of outed CIA officer Plame. "Fitzgerald had focused on Libby as the possible leaker of Plame's name and identity, but the new subpoenas to Time suggest he may be rethinking that theory," the Post observed. "Four reporters have now testified at Libby's urging that he did not disclose Plame's name or identity to them."
Time's outside counsel, Floyd Abrams, said the magazine will again seek to quash the subpoenas.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here