Karl Rove

July 1985: Karl Rove, at his office in Austin, where he handled marketing for statewide Republican candidates Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/Corbis Sygma/Corbis

December 20, 2001: President George Bush hosts a meeting with his staff in the Oval Office Photograph: Paul Morse/Reuters/Corbis

July 14 2004: Protesters hold signs during a march calling for the firing of Karl Rove, who was under scrutiny for allegedly revealing the identity of a covert CIA operative to a Time magazine reporter Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

October 27 2004: (L-R) Joe Hagen, the the White House deputy chief of staff; Karl Rove, political advisor to the president; and Steve Hadley, deputy national security advisor; all focus on their BlackBerrys during a campaign for George Bush in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Photograph: Tim Sloan/AFP

May 13 2005: President Bush and Karl Rove on the south lawn of the White House Photograph: Dennis Brack/EPA/Corbis

July 14 2005: President Bush and Karl Rove walk from the Oval Office across the south lawn of the White House Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

April 26 2006: Karl Rove leaves the federal courthouse in Washington after making his fifth grand jury appearance in the Valerie Plame affair Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

May 1 2006: President Bush walks back to the Oval Office with Karl Rove and economic adviser Al Hubbard Photograph: Jim Young/Corbis

July 14 2006: Retired CIA employee Valerie Plame Wilson leaves a press conference where she and her husband, former diplomat Joe Wilson, announced a lawsuit against senior members of the Bush administration. Plame filed a suit charging that the vice president, Dick Cheney, his aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby and adviser Karl Rove destroyed her career when they leaked her identity to the press Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

March 28 2007: Karl Rove performs a rap with comedians at the Radio and Television Correspondents Association annual dinner in Washington Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

March 28 2007: Karl Rove raises his hands to the crowd after dancing Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

April 9 2007: Karl Rove arrives at the White House after a visit to Yuma, Arizona Photograph: Ron Sachs/EPA

August 2 2007: Protesters hold up signs including a picture of Karl Rove and a copy of the US constitution, as White House political aide Scott Jennings prepares to testify during during a hearing on US attorney firings. Rove was supposed to testify at the hearing but did not show up Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP