US: President George Bush's political adviser Karl Rove has testified for a fifth time before a grand jury investigating the leak of a CIA agent's identity, a sign that he remains under suspicion for his role in the affair, writes Denis Staunton in Washington
Citing legal sources close to Mr Rove, the Washington Post reported that he sought to persuade jurors that he did not knowingly mislead investigators about his conversations with journalists about CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Ms Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, claims that the White House leaked her identity in an effort to undermine his criticism of the administration's case for war in Iraq.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby, vice-president Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, has been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to investigators about his role in the leak.
Mr Rove has admitted discussing Ms Plame's identity with conservative columnist Robert Novak and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.
When he testified in February 2004, however, he said he did not recall discussing Ms Plame with Mr Cooper and only remembered the conversation months later when special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald discovered an e-mail referring to it.
Mr Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, said the White House aide had testified voluntarily. "In connection with this appearance, the special counsel has advised Mr Rove that he is not a target of the investigation. Mr Fitzgerald has affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges," he said.
The CIA leak investigation is a major embarrassment and distraction for the White House, which has undergone a shake-up in recent weeks.
Court papers last week revealed that Mr Libby had testified that Mr Bush himself authorised the disclosure of classified intelligence reports to a journalist sympathetic to the administration.
The White House initially denied any involvement in the exposure of Ms Plame, who was first identified by Mr Novak in an article during the summer of 2003. Both Mr Rove and Mr Libby deny breaking any laws in disclosing the agent's identity and nobody has been charged with the offence of revealing a CIA agent's identity.