Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald delayed a decision on whether to seek
criminal charges against Karl Rove in large part because he wants to determine
whether Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President
Cheney, can provide information on Rove's role in the CIA leak case, according
to attorneys involved in the investigation.

Even if Fitzgerald concludes in the near future that he does not have
sufficient evidence to charge Rove, the special prosecutor would not rule out
bringing charges at a later date and would not finish his inquiry on Rove until
he hears whatever information Libby might provide -- either incriminating or
exculpatory -- on Rove's role, the sources said.

On the last day of its two-year term, the federal grand jury in the leak
case indicted Libby on five counts of making false statements, perjury, and
obstruction of justice as part of an alleged effort to conceal his own role, and
perhaps that of other Bush administration officials, in publicly disclosing the
identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame.

Fitzgerald did not seek an indictment of Rove, opting to present any
potential new evidence on the White House deputy chief of staff to a new grand
jury. In recent days, Fitzgerald has reinterviewed several witnesses with
knowledge of Rove's role in the Plame leak and talked with attorneys of other
potential witnesses.

The ongoing investigation means that Rove's legal status is likely to
remain up in the air until the final disposition of Libby's case. That could be
two years from now, or even longer. Rove's predicament contradicts recent news
accounts indicating that Fitzgerald will conclude his probe of Rove in the near
future.