Rove Will Not Be Charged In CIA Leak Case, Lawyer Says

Democrats said Rove remains a symbol of fading White House credibility. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said yesterday that he should have been fired long ago.

In an interview, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y) said that he trusted Fitzgerald's judgment in the case, but he called on the special counsel to eventually release a report that details the roles of Rove and other White House officials in the leak of Plame's name.

"There is a fundamental here: The American people have lost faith in this White House," he said. "Things like this will not restore their faith."

Still, Democrats acknowledged that the all-clear signal for Rove will provide a political boost for the Bush White House and for Republicans. Rove, who was stripped of day-to-day policy management as part of the recent White House shake-up, is a political force not only inside the Oval Office but also among many Republicans seeking advice on how to win congressional races in a tough political climate for the GOP. A popular figure among conservatives, he is expected to intensify his campaigning and fundraising in the months ahead.

Fitzgerald's spokesman declined to comment.

Fitzgerald is investigating whether any administration officials knowingly disclosed Plame's CIA role as part of an effort to discredit allegations by her husband -- former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV -- that Bush had twisted prewar intelligence to justify an invasion of Iraq. Wilson had been sent by the CIA to investigate whether Iraq had sought nuclear weapons material from Niger. He reported back that the charge could not be proved, but Bush nevertheless asserted in his 2003 State of the Union address that intelligence existed that Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa.

After Wilson went public with his allegations a few months later, the White House was forced to concede that the Africa assertion was not based on solid evidence. But that was not before Libby, Rove and others set out to discredit Wilson, in part by telling reporters that his wife, a CIA officer, may have helped set up the Niger trip. Plame's name and affiliation with the intelligence agency was first revealed in a July 2003 column by Robert D. Novak, who has not revealed his sources for the story.

The CIA leak case is likely to remain a distraction for the White House. Libby was indicted last October on charges of perjury, making false statements and obstructing justice in the case. His trial is expected to begin in January, and legal filings in the case are likely to bring out new details of the role White House officials played in unmasking Plame.

In recent months, court filings have revealed more about Cheney's hands-on role in the White House effort to rebut Wilson, which resulted in the disclosure of Plame's name.

Cheney, Rove and other top White House officials could be called as witnesses in the Libby trial. It is also possible that others could be charged in the case if Fitzgerald discovers new evidence. Recent court filings have described the investigation as ongoing.

But the full details of Rove's role may never be known, because Fitzgerald is not required to issue a public report on his probe. Though Fitzgerald initially showed interest in Rove after learning, in the course of the investigation, that Rove had discussed Plame with reporters, lawyers in the case said the prosecutor spent the past two years or more trying to determine whether Rove lied to the grand jury.

Specifically, Fitzgerald wanted to know if Rove purposely hid from the grand jury in February 2004 the fact that he had discussed Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

Rove would later tell the grand jury that he had simply forgotten the conversation with Cooper until his lawyers found an e-mail months later that showed that the Rove-Cooper conversation had occurred. For much of the investigation, Fitzgerald seemed skeptical of Rove's foggy-memory defense. In fact, a few days before he indicted Libby, Fitzgerald appeared ready to charge Rove, the lawyers said.

At that point, Luskin stepped forward and offered last-minute evidence that he seemed confident would clear Rove. Eight months later, that came to pass.

Staff writers Carol D. Leonnig and Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.