New York Timesreporter Judith Miller testified before a grand jury investigating the leak of CIA information today and said she hoped her nearly three months in jail would lead to a federal law shielding journalists.
On the morning after her release from prison, Miller would not identify the confidential source she had protected for months but it was widely reported that source was vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby.
Judith Miller
"My source has now voluntarily and personally released me from my promise of confidentiality regarding our conversations," Ms Miller said in a statement.
"I am happy to be free," she told reporters gathered outside the court where the grand jury met. "I did not want to be in jail, but I would have stayed even longer."
Lawyers close to the case said Ms Miller's testimony appeared to clear the way for prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to wrap up his 2-year-old inquiry into who in the Bush administration leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity and whether any laws were violated.
"I am also hopeful that my time in jail will help pass a federal shield law so that the public's right to know can be protected," Ms Miller said. Ms Miller never wrote a story about the leak but Mr Fitzgerald thought she had information that would help his case.
Agencies