AUSTIN -- Karen Hughes, one of President Bush's longest-serving and closest advisers, said Wednesday that the public disclosure of a CIA operative's name was a disservice to the president and "very disruptive to democracy."
Hughes said she was confident that her fellow Texan and sometime rival, Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser, didn't leak the name to a syndicated columnist because "Karl has said that he was not involved."
Bush has ordered the White House staff to cooperate with an FBI investigation of the incident, which has escalated into a political controversy on the eve of the 2004 presidential race.
Hughes, the former White House communications director, now lives in Austin but continues to advise Bush and will be involved in his re-election campaign. She answered questions after delivering the keynote address to the Texas Conference for Women.
"President Bush has said -- and I agree -- there are too many leaks in Washington. We didn't experience that kind of situation when we were here in Texas. I think it's very disruptive to democracy," Hughes said.
"Whoever did this leak obviously was not serving President Bush very well," she added.
As far as Rove is concerned, we must remember that Ms. Hughes also knows of what she spins.
