United Press International - NewsTrack - Rove to quit if indicted

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Karl Rove plans to resign as President Bush's senior adviser if he is indicted in the CIA leak case.

Time Magazine reports White House officials say Rove and I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff -- both at the center of the federal investigation -- will resign to minimize damage to the administration.

Both Rove and Libby have testified before a grand jury investigating who leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Wilson -- also known by her maiden name Valerie Plame -- to the press.

Former ambassador Joseph Wilson was an outspoken critic of Bush's assertions on Saddam Hussein's quest for weapons of mass destruction. He says the leak of his wife's name was an attack on him.

Rove talked to Time Magazine writer Matthew Cooper about Plame. He failed to tell federal investigators about the conversation initially. Rove has testified four times before a federal grand jury looking into the matter.

Libby had numerous conversations with New York Times reporter Judith Miller, but says he didn't mention Plame as a CIA agent.

Miller said she doesn't remember who told her Plame's name, but she said Libby told her Wilson's wife worked for a CIA unit.