Washington ? New details about Judith Miller’s decision to cooperate in the CIA leak probe are raising questions about whether Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff and his defense lawyer tried to steer the New York Times reporter’s testimony.

The dispute arose as the newspaper on Sunday detailed three conversations that Miller had with the Cheney aide, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, in the summer of 2003 about Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson and Wilson’s wife, covert CIA officer Valerie Plame.

The issue over the contacts between Miller, Libby and their representatives has arisen even though Libby’s lawyer insists his client granted an unconditional waiver of confidentiality more than a year ago for the reporter to testify.