Matt Cooper [left] with Al Franken at the Time 100 party last month

Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper — a.k.a the reporter in the Valerie Plame case who didn't go to jail — is leaving the magazine for Portfolio, Condé Nast's beyond-hyped business magazine.

Women's Wear Daily reports:

Matt Cooper is leaving Time magazine for Condé Nast's new business magazine Portfolio, WWD has learned. Cooper was the Time reporter caught up in the investigation into the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame last year, along with The New York Times' Judith Miller. He has been with Time magazine since 1999.

The press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2006

MATT COOPER NAMED WASHINGTON EDITOR OF CONDE NAST PORTFOLIO

Matt Cooper has been named Washington Editor of Conde Nast Portfolio, it was announced today by Joanne Lipman, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. His appointment is effective in September.

"Matt is one of the most brilliant political minds in the business," Ms. Lipman said. “He has also been an inspiration to journalists everywhere and we are delighted to have him as part of our team."

"TIME is a great American institution and Time.com, where I've worked the last few months, a great site and I know they'll get stronger under my friend, Rick Stengel," Mr. Cooper said. "The company also stood by me, personally and financially, during the Plame case and I'll always be grateful for that. But startups are rare and the chance to be present at the creation of something new was impossible to resist."

Mr. Cooper joins Conde Nast Portfolio from TIME where, since April, he was the Political Editor for TIME.com. In 2003 he was named White House Correspondent for the magazine after serving as the Deputy Washington Bureau Chief. Prior to joining TIME, Mr. Cooper served as Washington Correspondent for Newsweek from 1996-1999. In addition, he wrote the "White House Watch" column for The New Republic, was Atlanta Bureau Chief for U.S. News & World Report, and was an Editor at The Washington Monthly. Mr. Cooper moonlights as a stand-up comedian and was named "Washington's Funniest Celebrity" in 1998.

Mr. Cooper holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. He lives in Washington DC with his wife Mandy Grunwald and their son.