"To the silly rumor that I read on the Internet today that I leaked the story about my good friend Sandy Berger, the answer is no," he added, explaining that he had no idea that Berger was under investigation until he saw a TV report on Tuesday.

"That's the first I learned of it," he told Hannity.

Turning petulant, Davis blamed Hannity's WABC Radio colleague Mark Levin for encouraging speculation about his role in the Berger case, citing a column Levin wrote for National Review Online that quoted Davis admitting in his book "Truth to Tell" that the AP's Solomon was a favored recipient of his leaks.

But it was Davis himself who all but confirmed the speculation when he dodged questions about whether he was the leaker on Thursday, then defended the leak as the right thing to do.

"Had I been asked last October by my old friend Sandy Berger," Davis told radio host Linda Chavez, "I would have suggested to Sandy that we call John Solomon and that he sit down with John Solomon and tell him the whole story and get the story out last October."

Though Chavez pressed him twice on whether some variation of that scenario had indeed played out, Davis said nothing to discourage the idea that he was the Berger leaker.

Editor's note: