CAIRO, July 12, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The White House has kept mum on new revelations about the possible involvement of its top political strategist in leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent after he husband refuted claims Iraq had tried to purchase nuclear material from Niger, amid demands from Democrats to fire him, reported leading US newspapers on Tuesday, July 12.

"At some point, I will be glad to talk about it, but not until after the investigation is complete," White House Press Secretary said in one of his evasive replies to a flood of questions, The Washington Post reported.

"No one wants to get to the bottom of it more than the president of the United States… And I think the way to be most helpful is to not get into commenting on it while it is an ongoing investigation," he told reporters Monday, July 11.

In a July 11, 2003, e-mail Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper wrote to his boss that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rove Rove, a close aide of President George Bush, has told him that the wife of a prominent Iraq war critic "apparently works" at the CIA before that information was printed in a newspaper column in July 2003.

The e-mail, recently published by Newsweek magazine, is now in the hands of federal prosecutors who are hunting down the leakers inside the Bush administration.

Former US ambassador Joseph Wilson has accused the administration of blowing the cover of his wife Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent as part of an orchestrated effort to silence opponents of the US-led invasion of the oil-rich Arab country.

Before the war, Wilson was sent by the CIA to the West African state of Niger in order to investigate claims that Iraq had tried to buy nuclear material there.

In an opinion piece printed in The New York Times, Wilson refuted the American claims, charging that US intelligence was "twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat."

After the opinion piece appeared, two top White House officials called "at least six Washington journalists" and revealed the name and occupation of Wilson's wife.

Robert Luskin, Rove's attorney, acknowledged his client had discussed the subject -- without naming Plame -- with Cooper, one of two reporters threatened with jail time for not cooperating on the case with special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

Cooper avoided jail last week after being granted a waiver by Rove to testify.

The White House has repeatedly denied that Rove or any other senior aides to Bush had anything to do with the name disclosure.

Asked about the matter on nine occasions over the years, Bush called the disclosure "a very serious matter," and vowed to fire any official found responsible.

Rove (R) is the White House's top political strategist

The Bush administration silence came amid Democrats pressure to explain what role, if any, Rove played in leaking the name.

Democrats began a campaign to pressure Rove to give up his security clearances, answer questions before Congress and even resign, the Post said.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, a Democrat, said he expected Bush to abide by his pledge to fire any official responsible for the leaking, reported the New York Times.

"I trust they will follow through on this pledge."

McClellan demurred when asked several times whether Bush will stand by his pledge to fire anyone who leaked classified information.

"This question is coming up in the context of this ongoing investigation," he said.

"Our policy continues to be that we're not going to get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation from this podium."

Senator Charles E. Schumer, a Democrat of New York, said Rove, given his stature and the principles involved in the case, could not hide behind legal advice not to comment.

"The lesson of history for George Bush and Karl Rove is that the best way to help themselves is to bring out all the facts, on their own, quickly," Schumer said, citing the second-term scandals that have beset previous administrations.

Bush has been facing growing doubts at home about the wisdom of attacking Iraq, as no weapons of mass destruction have been found in the country, raising skepticism the offensive on the oil-rich country was launched on false pretexts.