Dr. Siegel, asked at the news conference whether the Mayor's office had leaked information about the private inquiry to try to discredit him, said: "I don't know.

You raise the issue of whether Mr. Starr and his office were leaking as a way to pressure testimony from potential witnesses.

Asked whether the district attorney's office had leaked news about an investigation, Anne Marie Corbalis, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Pirro, would not comment.

Is his office leaking to the press?

After it emerged that her office had also leaked Bourreau-Guggenheim's critical e-mail to TF1, calls were made for Albanel's resignation.

Roger Shatzkin, a spokesman for Attorney General Peter G. Verniero, denied that the office leaked any information.

The White House immediately responded that the article buttressed its complaints that the independent counsel's office has improperly leaked information to the media.

Officials in Mr. Starr's office said he had begun his own inquiry into whether his office was leaking to the press.

In his letter, Representative Conyers went beyond questioning whether Mr. Starr's office had leaked material.

Critics also sensed partisan politics when Walsh's office leaked a note suggesting President Bush had lied about his connections to the affair.