Karl Rove to Resign

AP - Karl Rove to leave White House

Karl Rove, the political mastermind behind President Bush's races for the White House and an adviser with unparalleled influence over the past 6 1/2 turbulent years, announced his resignation Monday, ending a partnership stretching back more than three decades.

It was a major loss for Bush as he heads into the twilight of his presidency, battered in the polls, facing a hostile Democratic Congress and waging an unpopular war. A half dozen other senior advisers have left in recent months, forcing the White House to rebuild its staff at the same time the president is running out of influence.

Rove has been no stranger to controversy in Washington. He came under scrutiny in a criminal investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name. He testified five times before a federal grand jury, occasionally correcting misstatements he made in his earlier testimony, but he was never charged with any crime.

The trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby on charges of lying and obstructing justice established that Rove was one of the administration officials who leaked the name of the CIA officer, Valerie Plame.

In a more recent controversy, Rove refused to testify before Congress about the firing of U.S. attorneys, citing executive privilege.