WASHINGTON, April 20 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court in Washington has dealt two prominent reporters another legal setback in their bid to avoid jail time for protecting sources.
The court refused to reconsider a unanimous decision in February by a three-judge panel of the same court in the case of Judith Miller of the New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
That panel required the reporters to testify to a grand jury about conversations they may have had with government officials concerning Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent whose identity was first disclosed by Robert Novak, a syndicated columnist.
The pair is expected to appeal the court's action to the Supreme Court. If that move fails, the two could face as much as 18 months behind bars.
