WASHINGTON (AP) -- Notes by the New York Times' Judith Miller that were turned over in a criminal investigation contain the name of a covert CIA officer, but the reporter has told prosecutors she cannot recall who disclosed the name, the newspaper reported Saturday.The prosecutor in the case asked Miller in recent days to explain how Valerie Plame -- misspelled in those notes as "Valerie Flame" -- appeared in the same notebook the reporter used in interviewing her confidential source, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, according to the Times.In response to questioning by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, Miller replied that she "didn't think" she heard Plame's name from Cheney's aide, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby."I said I believed the information came from another source, whom I could not recall," Miller wrote, recounting her testimony for an article that the newspaper posted on its Web site Saturday afternoon."Valerie Flame" actually was the name in the notebook, and the Times said Miller should have written Valerie Plame.Fitzgerald has focused on three conversations Miller had with Libby as the prosecutor investigates whether a crime was committed in the leaking of Plame's identity to reporters.The public disclosure of Plame's identify followed strong criticism of the Bush administration by Plame's husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson.The newspaper said that Miller and Libby met for breakfast at a hotel near the White House on July 8, 2003, two days after Wilson stated that the Bush administration had manipulated prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. Miller had been assigned to write a story about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.The notebook Miller used for that July 8 interview includes the reference to "Valerie Flame." But Miller said that name did not appear in the same portion of her notebook as the interview notes from Libby, according to the Times.At the breakfast, Libby provided a detail about Wilson's wife, saying she worked in a CIA unit known as Winpac. The name stands for weapons intelligence, nonproliferation and arms control. Miller said she understood this to mean that Wilson's wife was an analyst rather than an undercover operative.In a July 12, 2003, phone call with Libby, another variant on Plame's name appears in Miller's notes -- "Victoria Wilson." The newspapers account Saturday says that by the time of the July 12 phone call, Miller had called other sources about Wilson's wife. The Times said Miller would not discuss her sources for the newspaper's account.Miller spent 85 days in a federal jail in Virginia for refusing to cooperate with Fitzgerald's investigation. Other reporters already had cooperated with the prosecutor.Miller relented when she received a personal waiver of confidentiality in September from her source. Miller then testified before the grand jury in late September and this month.The Times said Fitzgerald questioned Miller about a letter that Libby sent her while she was in jail. Libby assured her that he wanted her to testify, but the letter also said, according to the Times, "the public report of every other reporter's testimony makes clear that they did not discuss Ms. Plame's name or identity with me."Fitzgerald questioned Miller about Libby's letter, the newspaper said. Miller said she told Fitzgerald in her sworn testimony that the letter could be perceived as an effort by Libby "to suggest that I, too, would say that we had not discussed Ms. Plame's identity." But she added, "My notes suggested that we had discussed her job."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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