NEW YORK (CNN) - Time Inc. announced Thursday it would turn over the subpoenaed records from journalist Matt Cooper regarding the leak of a CIA operative's name, even though it "strongly disagrees" with the court order.

Cooper and Judith Miller of the New York Times were facing up to four months in jail for refusing to reveal their confidential sources in the matter to a grand jury, after the U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to hear an appeal in the case.

Time Inc. said in a statement its decision to turn over the records should prevent their White House correspondent from serving any time.

"We believe that our decision to provide the Special Prosecutor with the subpoenaed records obviates the need for Matt Cooper to testify and certainly removes any justification for incarceration," the statement said.

A federal judge was scheduled to decide next week whether Cooper and Miller would have to go to jail.

At a meeting Wednesday, attorneys for both Miller and Cooper told U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan that they intended to stick to their decision not to reveal their sources. He gave their attorneys until Friday to submit additional arguments and set a final hearing for July 6.

"The time has come to proceed," the judge said. "The rule of law is at stake."

Hogan also had said Time Inc. would face civil penalties of a "substantial sum" if it does not turn over documents, including Cooper's notes, to the grand jury as ordered.

In its statement Thursday, Time Inc. noted that even though it "strongly disagrees with the courts," such a position "provides no immunity."

"The same Constitution that protects the freedom of the press requires obedience to final decisions of the courts and respect for their rulings and judgments," the statement said.

The company also emphasized that its "decision doesn't represent a change in our philosophy, nor does it reflect a departure from our belief in the need for confidential sources."

Time Inc. predicted that the Supreme Court's decision could have damaging effects.

"In declining to review the important issues presented by this case, we believe that the Supreme Court has limited press freedom in ways that will have a chilling effect on our work and that may damage the free flow of information that is so necessary in a democratic society," the statement said. "It may also encourage excesses by overzealous prosecutors."

Time Inc. is a unit of Time Warner (Research), which is also the parent company of CNN/Money.

Asked outside the courthouse Wednesday about the possibility Time would turn over his notes, Cooper said, "I would prefer that they did not."

"But they have to make their own decision. The corporation is different than the person," he said. "I think certainly there's no shame and no dishonor in fighting all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States and complying with a lawful court order, if that is what Time in fact chooses to do."

Under federal law, civil contempt can carry up to 18 months in jail or the length of the grand jury's term, whichever is shorter. Hogan said the term of the grand jury in this case expires in October, so Miller and Cooper only face up to four months.

Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Miller and Cooper of a February ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which held that neither the First Amendment nor federal common law allows reporters to refuse to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a possible crime.

Meanwhile, the journalist whose work began the chain of events that led to the contempt charges against Miller and Cooper, Robert Novak, said Wednesday that he deplores the fact that the two reporters could go to jail, although he insisted "they're not going to jail because of me."

As he has throughout the controversy, Novak, a syndicated columnist and CNN contributor, told CNN's "Inside Politics" that he cannot talk about the case now, but he said he does plan to reveal the circumstances once the case is settled.

"I will reveal all in a column," he said. "I'd like to say a lot about the case, but because of my attorney's advice, I can't. But I will, and there might be some surprising things."

In July 2003, Novak, citing unidentified senior administration sources, revealed Plame's identity as a CIA operative.

Plame's husband is Joe Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Wilson charged that his wife's name was leaked to retaliate against him after he disputed Bush administration statements that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium in Africa.

Because federal law makes it a crime to deliberately reveal the identity of a CIA operative, the Justice Department launched an investigation, headed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald of Chicago.

As part of his probe, Fitzgerald subpoenaed a number of journalists to testify about their sources. Miller and Cooper and their news organizations decided to fight the subpoenas, although Cooper did reveal one unnamed source who released him from confidentiality pledge.

Ironically, Miller faces jail time for refusing to reveal sources she developed during her reporting, even though she never actually wrote a story on Plame or Wilson. But Novak, who first revealed Plame's identity, has not been held in contempt.

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