Karl Rove snubbed the Congress by claiming that he has the right to be treated "just like a former President" when it comes to executive privilege and his role within the White House as adviser to President George W. Bush remains protected from congressional subpoenas.

"I do not lose privilege by leaving the White House -- just as former Presidents don't lose the privilege when they leave the White House," Rove told reporters. "You remember that there have been instances where the current President, on behalf of President Clinton, has asserted privilege."

Rove's response comes amid plans by the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate him even after he leaves the Administration.

"Now that he is leaving the White House while under subpoena, I continue to ask what Mr. Rove and others at the White House are so desperate to hide," Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said. "Mr. Rove’s apparent attempts to manipulate elections and push out prosecutors citing bogus claims of voter fraud shows corruption of federal law enforcement for partisan political purposes, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its investigation into this serious issue."

Rove made a side swipe at the congress by point out that "Democrat Congress is less popular than the President, and they got there a heck of a lot quicker."

The architect of Bush's electoral victories also denied that he is "Bush's brain" and called the people who characterize him that way stupid.

"That's an attack on the President," Rove said. "That is the critics of the President trying to be cute. This guy is a Yale undergraduate and history major, a Harvard MBA, and one of the best-read, most thoughtful people I know. Now, I know he likes to play sort of the Midland/West Texas -- but he is smart."