By: (AP) President Bush said Wednesday that he will withhold judgment about top aide Karl Rove's involvement in leaking the identity of a CIA agent until a federal criminal investigation into the matter is complete.
"This is a serious investigation,'' Bush said at the end of a meeting with his Cabinet, with Rove sitting just behind him. "I will be more than happy to comment on this matter once this investigation is complete.
"I also will not prejudge the investigation based on media reports,'' he said, when asked whether Rove acted improperly in discussing CIA officer Valerie Plame with a reporter.
Rove talked about Plame -- without using her name -- in a July 11, 2003 conversation with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper. Cooper wrote an article that identified her.
Bush's statement was a surprise for some White House advisers and senior Republicans who had expected the president to deliver a vote of confidence for Rove, his deputy chief of staff. Two Bush advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was poised to speak for himself at the Cabinet meeting, said shortly before his remarks that the president intended to signal his support of Rove -- without prejudging the merits of the case -- during that picture-taking session. Indeed, they said, he was prepared to do so a day earlier but the question was not posed in the question-and-answer session Tuesday.
Bush said last year he would fire anyone found to have leaked Plame's identity.
Bush refused to directly answer questions about whether he had spoken to Rove about his discussion with Cooper.
"I have instructed every member of my staff to fully cooperate in this investigation,'' Bush said. Rove sat stoically behind Bush during the questions about his involvement.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here