Sam asks some pertinent questions about the sweet yet sad story of Judith and Scooter. In standard political blogging practice of avoiding even 30 seconds of web research before spouting off, I'll take a hack at them...
Did Miller go to jail to protect Libby as a source or as a boyfriend?
"Both" would be the obvious answer. I'm not sure that's correct, however. Miller stuck it out in jail on multiple conditions: not just getting release from her source (and demanding said release both verbally and in writing, difficult matters to arrange while in the Big House with a high government official about a heavily publicized case without giving the whole thing away) but also extensive negotiations about exactly what questions she would answer under oath. The double-release demand makes me think she preferred to be in jail, and wanted to delay release; the limitations on questioning speak to the reason why. The implication is that she was trying to conceal something, and not have to testify about it under oath. The exact nature of her relationship with Scooter is the exact kind of thing humans wish to avoid having to get nailed down on. People do remember the Clinton story, which also featured extensive negotiations about what exact questions he could be asked, and his perjury conviction was based on failure to truthfully answer questions which weren't asked. As for why she's so sensitive about the relationship, beyond the obvious usual, see below...
Are they both going to jail now?
I haven't heard that Miller was accused of a crime, other than the contempt of court she's now discharged. The most serious stuff against Miller goes like this. Before the Iraq war, the NY Times printed as settled fact the Ahmed Chalabi/Iraqi National Congress story that said "Saddam has WMD and is ready to use them, the people will greet your tanks with roses and sweetcakes". This story, though widely questioned at the time and ultimately shown to be completely false, was the core public argument the neocons used to justify going to war. The NYT had (and maybe still does) a reasonably solid reputation for getting facts right, and is generally perceived as moderate-leftish in editorial policy, so those stories, backed by the integrity of the Times, did play a role in gathering enough support for the country to go to war. The reporter on those stories? One Judith Miller. So that's the charge against Miller: through credulous and inaccurate reporting, her judgement clouded by personal entanglements, she used the reputation of the NY Times to take the country into the most expensive, damaging, and detrimental war in a generation. Crime? No. But her footnote in the history books is getting longer. For Miller, a little jail term to try and massage the past, avoiding the most embarassing bits, might seem like a small price to pay.
As for Scooter, I don't think he's going to jail. That's not the way the US treats high political criminals. Even imagining (a big stretch) the prosecutor gets a provable case, he'll take a plea bargain and testify against whoever drew the short straw, immunity in exchange for talking to Congress (like Ollie North), or a pardon (like Nixon, or any of the tens of thousands Clinton pardoned on his last day). Regardless, he's lost his seat of power, and is now condemned to the conservative book tour, which is punishment enough from a Washington point of view.
Can they get adjoining cells?Sounds like one for Slate's Explainer column. Adjoining tables on the book tour, perhaps.