A former senior White House aide testified in the CIA leak case that U.S. President George W. Bush authorized the leak of prewar intelligence data on Iraq, according to court papers revealed by U.S. media Thursday.

The court papers cited Lewis "Scooter" Libby, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, as telling prosecutors that Cheney had told him that Bush authorized him to disclose certain "classified material" about Iraq to a reporter.

The disclosure could trigger a long-simmering political storm for Bush, especially at a time when he faces weakening poll numbers, an increasingly unpopular war in Iraq and a rebellion in his own Republican Party over issues such as immigration.

Last October, Libby was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame, the wife of former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, a critic of Bush 's war policies.

Wilson accused White House officials of deliberately leaking his wife's CIA identity in retaliation for his anti-war position.

According to the newly released court papers, before his indictment, Libby testified that Cheney told him to pass on prewar intelligence to reporters and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure.

The authorization led to the conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller on July 8, 2003.

Although there is no indication in the papers that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Plame's CIA identity, the disclosure puts the president and the vice president in an awkward position of authorizing leaks - a practice both of them have long said they abhor.

The Democrats, in a bid to take over Congress from the hands of the Republicans in November elections, instantly demanded an explanation.

Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said he will formally request an explanation from the White House.

But the White House declined to discuss the issue. "Our policy is not to discuss ongoing legal proceedings and that policy is unchanged," said a spokesman.

Meanwhile, Karl Rove, Bush's top advisor, remains under investigation in the leak case and Libby's trial has been set for January 2007.

Source: Xinhua