Karl Rove, Adviser to President Bush, to Quit
By Debbi Wilgoren and Peter Baker, Washington Post
Karl Rove, chief architect of the Bush presidency and the premier Republican strategist of the last decade, will step down as White House deputy chief of staff Aug. 31.
Rove revealed his plans to the Wall Street Journal in a Saturday afternoon interview that was published this morning. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino confirmed the news to The Washington Post.
Rove, 56, has survived years of pointed investigation of his activities while in the White House – first during special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s probe of White House leaks, and more recently by Democratic-controlled Congressional committees examining the firing of U.S. attorneys and the involvement of Justice Department officials in White House political briefings.
He refused Congressional subpoenas, citing executive privilege, and was never accused in the White House leak scandal, despite being grilled by a grand jury multiple times.