A New York Times journalist was jailed today for refusing to reveal her source in the leaking of a CIA agent's identity.
Judith Miller was held in contempt of court for refusing to testify about the government source before a grand jury.
A second reporter, Matt Cooper from Time magazine, was also expected to be jailed but agreed to testify at the last minute.
He said he had said goodbye to his six-year-old son last night and gone to bed preparing himself for the court's sanctions. But in a "stunning set of developments", that source gave him permission to testify at the last minute, he said.
"My source agreed to give me a specific, personal and unambiguous waver to testify before a grand jury," he said. "It's a sad day. My heart goes out to Judy. I told her as she left the court to stay strong."
Unless she agrees to testify, Miller will be held behind bars in Washington until the grand jury investigating the leak ends its work in October. Her lawyer, Floyd Abrams, speaking outside the court, stressed that she had not been accused or convicted of a crime.
"She has been held in civil contempt of court," he said. "Judge Thomas Hogan used the phrase 'she holds the key to her own cell' and that is true. That is not the case of someone convicted of a crime."
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said: "Judy Miller made a commitment to her source and she's standing by it." The Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal last Monday and the reporters were given a one-week ultimatum.
Time was also threatened with large fines if it did not hand over the subpoenaed documents, which it eventually agreed to do. The identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was first revealed by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who has refused to say whether he was subpoenaed over his sources. He told CNN he would "reveal all" when the matter was resolved.
Cooper subsequently wrote an article about Plame while Miller conducted interviews on the subject but never wrote an article.
Plame was an expert on weapons of mass destruction whose husband, Joseph Wilson, is a former ambassador who questioned President George Bush's claims that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa.