Cheney Was Interviewed In Probe of Plame Leak

Vice President Cheney was recently interviewed by federal prosecutors investigating the leak of an undercover CIA officer's identity, the New York Times reported last night.

The report, posted on the newspaper's Web site, came two days after the White House said President Bush had consulted an outside lawyer in case prosecutors or a grand jury seek to question him. A White House spokesman had no comment on the report about Cheney.

The Times said prosecutors asked him if he knew of anyone in the White House who had improperly disclosed the identity of the officer, Valerie Plame. Her name was revealed in a newspaper column last summer that attributed the information to senior administration officials. The Times said Cheney was also asked if he knew of any effort by White House aides to name Plame. The Times said the vice president's answers were not known.

The report, attributed to people officially informed about the case, said Cheney was not thought to be a focus of the inquiry. He was not questioned under oath and has not been asked to appear before the grand jury, the report said.