White House aide Karl Rove will not be charged in the CIA leak case, his lawyer said on Tuesday in a much-needed boost for President George W. Bush's White House, which has been battered by bad news for months.
Freeing Bush's top political adviser from possible indictment on perjury charges allows him to concentrate on Republicans winning the key congressional elections in November.
"On June 12, 2006, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not anticipate seeking charges against Karl Rove," Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, said in a statement.
Fitzgerald has already gotten an indictment from a federal grand jury against another top White House aide, Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
In October, Libby was charged with obstruction of justice and lying to FBI agents and a grand jury during the investigation. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in January. That prompted speculation that Rove, too, could face perjury charges since he had also spoken to reporters in the case.
"We believe the special counsel's decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr Rove's conduct," Luskin said.
Saying the White House was pleased, spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "Karl is, as he has been throughout the process, fully focused on the task at hand: crafting and building support for the president's agenda." Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn said he had no comment and did not confirm or deny that Rove would not be charged.
Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean said the fact that Rove won't face indictment "does not excuse his real sin, which is leaking the name of an intelligence operative during a time of war. He doesn't belong in the White House."
"So I think this is probably good news for the White House, but it's not very good news for America," Dean told NBC's "Today Show." Former US House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich said the news came at a good time for the White House.
"The president is looking a little better, a little stronger," Gingrich, a Republican, said in a television interview on Fox News. "Certainly for the White House and for Karl Rove this is a very important morning and a very positive one."
Fitzgerald's investigation centers on who blew the cover of CIA officer Valerie Plame after her husband, former US diplomat Joseph Wilson, criticised the Bush administration for manipulating intelligence in the lead-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Libby and senior Bush adviser Karl Rove spoke to reporters about Plame before her identity was made public by newspaper columnist Robert Novak in July 2003. Rove testified to the grand jury five times before Fitzgerald decided not to seek any indictments.