I wish our government could get this story straight. Even if the meeting did take place (with Saddam or an agent), all this contradiction makes us look uncoordinated and incompetent. I think it can end up backfiring, because it gives the doves fodder for their 'even the hawks can't agree on their so-called smoking gun! What kind of a case is that?' argument.
I think this should only have been made public if we had pretty incontrovertible evidence of it.