Rove Probe Sought

A key congressional Democrat told the White House Tuesday it has "a legal obligation" to request a Justice Department review of senior aide Karl Rove's dealings with companies that Rove held substantial stock in.

Rejecting the White House's contention there were no conflicts of interest, Rep. Henry Waxman of California argued that the law requires the Justice Department to make the call.

Earlier this year, Rove had contacts with energy companies as the administration drafted a national energy policy, and with Intel Corp, as the California-based computer chip maker sought approval of a proposed merger it later won.

White House spokesman Anne Womack replied in a statement, "We are confident that Karl Rove has followed all ethical guidelines and acted appropriately in his role as senior adviser to the president."

"Unfortunately, it appears that Congressman Waxman is continuing to put the politics of personal destruction before the business of the American people," she said.

Waxman said he wanted to specifically know what transpired during Rove's meetings in March and April with officials from Intel, General Electric and Enron, an energy company. According to a Waxman aide, Rove sold more than $250,000 in stock in the three companies in June

Gonzales acknowledged June 29 that Rove participated in meetings on the administration's energy policy while he owned stock in Enron.

Gonzales said "general policy discussions" fall outside the scope of federal ethics rules that bar an official from participating in a matter in which he has a financial interest.

Rove also met March 12 with the chairman of Intel and two lobbyists who spoke in favor of a proposed high-tech merger, which the Bush administration approved less than two months later. Gonzals said Rove was noncommittal to the Intel pitch and offered no substantive response.

"If the news reports of Mr. Rove's conduct are accurate, Mr. Rove discussed federal policies with senior executives of companies in which he held substantial investments," Waxman wrote. "This is exactly the type of conflict of interest that the ethics laws are designed to prevent."

Rove, a Texas political consultant before coming to Washington, got a certificate of divestiture from the government which is enabling him to defer payment of capital gains taxes on his stock sales.

Rove sold his Intel stock for $110,000 and his Enron stock for $68,000.

In one call to Rove, Lay touted Pennsylvania utilities regulator Nora Brownell for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before the White House public announcement that Mr. Bush would nominate her for the post. The White House says Mr. Bush had already decided to pick Brownell at the time of Lay's call.

Waxman, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said it is not possible to assess the seriousness of Rove's actions or his intent "based on the little information that has been made public."

The White House is refusing to release details about how and when Rove acquired stocks in Enron, Intel and 21 other companies which he sold June 7 for $1.5 million.

Rove came under fire last week for his involvement is discussions with the Salvation Army, in which the charity sought a regulation exempting it from laws banning discrimination against gays. The White House had originally contended that no high-lvel staff were involved.

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