WASHINGTON, Oct 28: US Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis Libby, was indicted on Friday for obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements after a two-year investigation into the leak of a covert CIA operative’s identity.

Lewis Libby, who could face up to 30 years in prison, resigned minutes after the indictment was handed over in federal court in Washington.

President George Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove, was not indicted, but special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald made clear to Mr Rove that he remained under investigation and in legal jeopardy, lawyers said.

Mr Libby’s indictment hit a White House already on the defensive over the response to Hurricane Katrina, opposition to the Iraq occupation and the withdrawal of Mr Bush’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, Harriet Miers.

The dollar rose to session highs on the news, pushing the euro to $1.2049, suggesting some relief in markets that the indictment was limited to Mr Libby.

As Mr Cheney’s chief of staff, Mr Libby played a major behind-the-scenes role in building the case for the Iraq invasion, was accused in the five-count indictment of lying about how and when he learned and disclosed to reporters classified information about the covert operative, Valerie Plame.

Ms Plame’s identity was leaked to the media after her diplomat husband, Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of twisting intelligence to support military action against Iraq. Mr Wilson said it was done deliberately to erode his credibility. Mr Libby was not charged with illegally disclosing the name of a CIA operative.

If convicted, Lewis Libby, 55, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine, prosecutors said.

The charges accuse Mr Libby of lying to FBI agents who interviewed him on Oct 14, 2003, and again on Nov 26, committing perjury while testifying under oath to the grand jury on March 5 last year and again on March 24.—Reuters