Rove Still on Democrats' Hitlist

Democratic Congressmen warned today they will keep up their campaign to have George Bush's strategy adviser, Karl Rove, brought to book in spite of his announcement that he is to leave the White House at the end of the month.

Senior Democrats have been pursuing Mr Rove on a host of issues, mainly the sacking of eight attorneys. The Democrats claim the dismissals were politically motivated.

Mr Rove has ignored subpoenas demanding his attendance to give evidence on Capitol Hill.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat who heads the judiciary committee, said: "Rove's apparent attempts to manipulate elections and push out prosecutors citing bogus claims of voter fraud shows corruption of federal law enforcement for partisan political purposes, and the senate judiciary committee will continue its investigation into this serious issue."

Senator Charles Schumer, another Democrat, said: "Karl Rove's resignation will not stop our inquiry into the firings of the US attorneys. He has every bit as much of a legal obligation to reveal the truth once he steps down as he does today."

Mr Rove is a hate figure for the Democratic party and its leaders queued up today to vilify him. He is credited as the strategist behind Mr Bush's two presidential election wins, two wins for Mr Bush in the election for the governorship of Texas and the Republican Congressional victory in 2002.

He set out make the Republicans the natural party of power for decades to come. But he leaves Mr Bush at near-record lows in polls, the US bogged down in Iraq, and no significant legislation as a legacy.

Mr Rove denied today the Democrats had hounded him from office early. He told CNN: "That sounds like a rooster calling up the sun."

Earlier, he told the Wall Street Journal he knew that some people might suspect he was leaving office to avoid scrutiny but said: "I'm not going to stay or leave based on whether it pleases the mob."

He insisted his reasons were personal: "I just think it's time."

He added: "There's always something that can keep you here and, as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family."

The main reason may be that, though Mr Bush has 18 months left in office, there is no chance of the president pushing any significant legislation through Congress in his remaining time in office.

Mr Rove said he planned to write a book and teach. Friends said he may offer to help out in next year's presidential election campaign, though it seems likely all the Republican candidates will be seeking to distance themselves from Mr Bush's administration and are unlikely to seek his help.

The White House deputy press spokesman, Dana Perino, said he had been talking with the president for about a year about the best time to go.

The White House did not say whether its chief of staff, Josh Bolten, will appoint a successor or leave the post vacant.

In the Wall Street Journal interview, published today, Mr Rove claimed that the war will turn and look much better in the months ahead, that Mr Bush's poll ratings will improve and the Republicans will win the presidential election, particularly if their opponent is Hillary Clinton.

Republicans heaped praise on him, in spite of last year's disastrous Congressional election.

Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican national committee, said: "He will be remembered most for engineering two successful presidential campaigns, but those of us who have worked closely with Karl know that his dedication to politics was not for its own sake: Karl was and is, at heart, a policy person, someone who has strong beliefs and a deep commitment to making our nation better."

But the extent to which he has been a divisive political figure was demonstrated in the response of John Edwards, one of the front-runners for the Democratic presidential nomination. "Goodbye, good riddance," he said.

Barack Obama, another front-runner for the Democratic nomination, said: "Karl Rove was an architect of a political strategy that has left the country more divided, the special interests more powerful, and the American people more shut out from their government than any time in memory."

John Kerry, who stood against Mr Bush in 2004, said: "Unanswered questions and political division are Rove's legacy."

Mr Rove last year was under investigation over the leaking of the name of a CIA operative, Valerie Plame, in a row about the Iraq war.

He escaped indictment but his White House colleague, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, was tried, found guilty and sentenced to 30 months in jail.

Ms Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, a former US ambassador involved in the row, said: "Rove, identified by the prosecutors as one of the leakers, not only was not summarily dismissed, but has been allowed to leave on his own terms, to praise from the president."