Bush has stood by Rove through the string of political scandals.

One of the first such controversies alleged that Rove was behind the 2000 rumor that Arizona Senator John McCain had fathered an illegitimate African-American child. Rove sharply denied he had anything to do with this rumor, though doubters say this was Rove's way of slandering McCain after he defeated Bush in the 2000 New Hampshire primary.