Cooper has confirmed to Salon that she was the reporter who met with Condit at Tryst, a restaurant/bar in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, in the late afternoon of May 2, to discuss the California energy crisis as well as Condit's three meetings at the White House that week. In a timeline drafted for the media, Condit staffers subsequently and erroneously reported that meeting as having taken place a day earlier, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The error in the timeline certainly seems significant, since it purportedly creates an alibi for Condit on the day that Levy was last heard from.

On anything else having to do with the meeting, the erroneous report by Condit's office or the failure of the police to contact her, Cooper had no comment and referred questions to the ABC News public relations department. "She's not been contacted by any law enforcement authorities," confirms Su-Lin Nichols, a spokesperson for ABC News.

Cooper's admission comes on a day when D.C. police searched the heavy underbrush of Rock Creek Park a full 10 weeks after the department was told she was missing -- and yet she had left evidence on her computer showing that one of her last known acts was to have used a map search engine on May 1 to find the location of nearby Klingle Mansion. Though the police have searched the area around Klingle Mansion before, this is the first time they have conducted such a thorough search of the area.

It's another reminder that with the whole country watching, the D.C. police have consistently inspired something less than confidence.

Cooper, reports a source close to her, is "surprised" that she has yet to receive one phone call from the D.C. police to clear up this matter -- not to mention discuss with her Condit's behavior or state of mind the day after a woman with whom he was having an affair went missing.

The police's reaction? "First of all, I don't know if we know about that," said Sgt. Joseph Gentile, public information officer for the D.C. Police Department, when asked about the mess-up in Condit's schedule. "Second of all, why are you asking about Condit's state of mind? We're looking for Miss Levy, we want to know about Miss Levy's state of mind. Third of all, we don't identify the people we talk to."

Still, according to one former D.C. police sergeant, "Somebody should have interviewed her."

Among many at ABC News, at least, that has been the prevailing wisdom: Every day that passes without Cooper receiving a phone call from D.C. police raises eyebrows and questions among both Cooper and her colleagues about the thoroughness of the investigation. One week ago, on July 11, ABC News' Pierre Thomas reported on "Nightline" that "in the timeline, [Condit] says he meets with a reporter the evening of May 1 at a local coffee shop, from 6:30 until 7:30. That reporter, who works for ABC News, remembers the meeting taking place the next day. Condit's office immediately puts out a statement saying the timeline was only a draft. They still have not provided a corrected version."

"It's just basic 101 police work," says local community activist Dorothy Brizill, executive director of D.C. Watch, a local government watchdog group. "You wonder whether or not they get it. When it comes to MPD" -- the Metropolitan Police Department -- "they have been lacking in basic investigative skills for years.

"Just the other day on Sunday's programs, you see [Police Chief] Ramsey talking about the Internet traffic on her computer and you say, 'Wait a minute! Did he just learn this?' and you just scratch your head," Brizill says. "Anyone who has any familiarity with D.C. police will tell you the lack of professionalism, the lack of skills."

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