WASHINGTON, June 13: President George W. Bush’s top political adviser Karl Rove will escape charges in a CIA leak scandal which battered the White House and toppled another top aide, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald told Rove’s lawyer Robert Luskin on Monday evening his client would not be indicted over the alleged outing by top officials of a CIA spy in a row bound up with the drive to war with Iraq.

The announcement, days after a US air strike killed Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was another boost for White House strategists battling to reverse Bush’s low opinion poll ratings.

Fitzgerald charged I. Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, last October with obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements.

“On June 12, 2006, special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald formally advised us that he does not contemplate seeking charges against Karl Rove,” Luskin said in a statement.

“In deference to the pending case, we will not make any further public statements about the subject matter of the investigation.

“We believe that the special counsel’s decision should put an end to the baseless speculation about Mr Rove’s conduct.”

Rove’s spokesman Mark Corallo said that Rove felt ‘good’ after hearing that a burden that had overshadowed him for months would be lifted.—AFP