SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco Chronicle agreed to be held in contempt of court and pay perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for refusing to assist a federal grand jury investigating who leaked its reporters the secret testimony of Barry Bonds and other athletes, according to a court filing.

The government agreed to stay any fines pending the outcome of an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The paper, citing the First Amendment, is refusing to abide by a grand jury subpoena ordering it to release any information it has on the reporters’ source or sources.

Two Chronicle reporters who wrote about Bonds’ 2003 testimony before a federal grand jury investigating the BALCO steroid ring also have agreed to be held in contempt, pending appeal.

Reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada could be jailed for as much as 18 months or until they agree to divulge the source or sources of the leak. They argue the First Amendment protects them as well, a position a federal judge has rejected.

Under the proposed deal between the newspaper and federal prosecutors, which must be approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White, the Chronicle agreed to pay a fine of at least $1,000 per day, for up to 18 months. Both sides reserve the right to argue the amount of the fine.

The agreement is largely procedural, allowing the case to move before the appeals court.

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According to the leaked testimony, Bonds told the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative grand jury that he did not knowingly use steroids and said he thought his trainer Greg Anderson supplied him with flaxseed oil and arthritic balm.