A prosecutor on Tuesday urged a federal judge to put two journalists in jail, instead of home detention, for refusing to reveal their sources leaking the identity of a CIA agent.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald opposed the request of Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and New York Times reporter Judith Miller to be granted home detention, saying home detention would make them continue to defy a court order to testify.

He also demanded that Cooper testify before a grand jury, even though Time magazine had handed over Cooper's notebooks in the investigation.

An investigation has been going on for nearly two years over the disclosure of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Her name was first published in a July 14, 2003 column by Robert Novak, who cited two unidentified senior Bush administration officials as his sources.

Subsequently, Cooper wrote a story over Plame, and Miller gathered material but never wrote an article. It is unclear whether Novak has testified or been subpoenaed.

US District Judge Thomas Hogan has found Cooper and Miller in contempt of court for refusing to divulge their sources. He has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday to consider the sentence for the two journalists, who each could face up to 120 days in jail.

Source: Xinhua