Insiders say Rove may leave White House

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Insiders say Rove may leave White House

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Karl Rove's colleagues are preparing for the possibility that he may leave the White House because of the CIA leak case.

Despite the insistence of friends that he is out of legal jeopardy, several of the lawyers who deal with special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald believe Fitzgerald is continuing to look into the possibility of charging Rove with lying to investigators or the grand jury or both, Time magazine reports.

If that happens, Rove almost certainly would resign immediately.

Several Bush administration officials predict that within a year, the president will have a new chief of staff and press secretary, probably a new treasury secretary and maybe a new defense secretary, the magazine said.

If Rove does head out, he may leave behind a wounded president.

"A president who loves to hit home runs and wants to be remembered for swinging for the fences is being forced to take base hits," says a former White House official.
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