Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove made his fourth appearance before the U.S. grand jury probing whether Bush administration officials disclosed the identity of an undercover CIA operative to reporters. Rove's lawyer said the prosecutor in the case hasn't decided whether to bring charges.

Rove offered no comment as he left a federal courthouse in Washington, trailed by dozens of reporters, after spending more than four hours with the grand jury. He smiled briefly as he climbed into a bronze-colored Toyota and departed.

Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has been trying to determine whether administration officials violated a 1982 law designed to protect the identity of Central Intelligence Agency employees. New York Times reporter Judith Miller was questioned earlier this week before the grand jury, her second appearance.

Rove ``testified voluntarily today before the grand jury,'' his attorney, Robert Luskin of Patton Boggs LLP, said in a statement. ``The special counsel has not advised Mr. Rove that he is a target of the investigation and affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges.''

Luskin said Fitzgerald indicated he doesn't expect to call Rove again. ``At the request of the special counsel, Mr. Rove will not discuss the substance of his testimony,'' Luskin said.

The grand jury's term ends Oct. 28, and Fitzgerald has said in court papers that his two-year probe was almost complete except for the questioning of two reporters, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine and Miller, both of whom have now testified. Miller's decision last month to cooperate with Fitzgerald's investigation ended an 85-day stay in jail for contempt of court.

No Distraction

Asked today if the repeated questioning of Rove, one of President George W. Bush's closest advisers, is a distraction, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, ``We're pressing ahead with the president's agenda.''

McClellan said the White House ``doesn't have time to let those things distract'' from official duties. Asked if Bush continues to have confidence in Rove, McClellan said Rove ``continues to do his duties.''

The case stems from the publication in July 2003 by Chicago Sun-Times columnist and CNN commentator Robert Novak of the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame, after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, publicly questioned President George W. Bush's rationale for going to war with Iraq.

Wilson was dispatched by the CIA to investigate reports that Iraq tried to buy ``yellow cake'' uranium from Niger.

On July 6, 2003, he wrote an opinion article in the New York Times saying he found no evidence of such an attempt and that the administration ``twisted'' some of the intelligence about Iraq's pursuit of nuclear weapons to justify the war.

In his January 2003 state-of-the-union address, Bush said Iraq was trying to purchase nuclear materials in Africa. Days after Wilson's article appeared, the White House said Bush shouldn't have made the assertion. No evidence Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was found after Saddam Hussein's regime fell.

Shortly after Wilson's article was published, Rove and Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, discussed Wilson's allegations with several reporters on the condition the journalists not reveal their sources, according to court documents and published accounts. The grand jury next meets Oct. 19.

Outside the courthouse today, a small group of protesters called for Rove to be fired.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cary O'Reilly in Washington at caryoreilly@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 14, 2005 15:11 EDT