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(CNSNews.com) - Top Bush adviser Karl Rove is expected to appear with President Bush later this morning to discuss his impending resignation. Rove told the Wall Street Journal he will leave the White House at the end of August. In an opinion piece on page A-15, Paul Gibot explains why Rove has decided to leave. "I just think it's time," Rove told the newspaper, adding that he's been thinking about leaving for some time. "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 newspaper quoted him as saying. He and his wife reportedly plan to return to Texas, where their son attends college. As President Bush's chief strategist and advisor, Rove has been a major target for liberals, some of whom describe him as "Bush's brain." Most recently, he's been the target of various Democrat subpoenas, and many believe he was the desired target of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in the Valerie Plame case. Rove told the Wall Street Journal he knows his critics will claim that he's leaving now to avoid congressional scrutiny, but he said it's not true. Rove said the catalyst for his Aug. 31 departure was a message from Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, who told senior White House aides that if they didn't resign soon, they'd be obligated to stay to the end of Bush's term. Rove reportedly plans to write a book on his 14 years with George W. Bush.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewFlash.asp?Page=...H20070813r.htmlKarl Rove to leave White House at month's end
WASHINGTON - Karl Rove, President Bush's close friend and chief political strategist, plans to leave the White House at the end of August, joining a lengthening line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1 1/2 years of the administration.
On board with Bush since the beginning of his political career in Texas, Rove was nicknamed "the architect" and "boy genius" by the president for designing the strategy that twice won him the White House. Critics call Rove "Bush's brain."
A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny for months during the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name but he was never charged with any crime. In a more recent controversy, Rove, citing executive privilege, has refused to testify before Congress about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
Bush was expected to make a statement Monday with Rove. Later Monday, Rove, his wife and their son were to accompany Bush on Air Force One when the president flies to Texas for his vacation.
"Obviously it's a big loss to us," White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino said. "He's a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind. He will be greatly missed, but we know he wouldn't be going if he wasn't sure this was the right time to be giving more to his family, his wife Darby and their son. He will continue to be one of the president's greatest friends."
Since Democrats won control of Congress in November, some top administration officials have announced their resignations. Among those who have left are White House counselor Dan Bartlett, budget director Rob Portman, chief White House attorney Harriet Miers, political director Sara Taylor, deputy national security adviser J.D. Crouch and Meghan O'Sullivan, another deputy national security adviser who worked on Iraq. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was forced out immediately after the election as the unpopular war in Iraq dragged on.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20242719/
