In a letter responding to congressional inquiries, White House counsel Alberto Gonzales said "general policy discussions" fall outside the scope of federal ethics rules that bar an official from participating in a matter in which he has a financial interest.

"The formulation of national energy policy is a classic example of the sort of broad policy discussion that is expressly excluded from regulatory coverage," wrote the White House counsel.

Providing no specifics, Gonzales stated that Rove "did participate in a number of ... meetings at which the contours of the administration's energy policy were discussed." But Gonzales said that Rove was not a member of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force, which formulated energy policy, and that Rove did not attend any of the task force meetings.

On a separate issue, the White House counsel said that Rove had only "passing contact" with a proposed high-tech merger that Intel Corp.'s chief executive and two Intel lobbyists pushed for in a March 12 meeting with Rove.

"Mr. Rove was noncommittal and offered no substantive response" to the Intel executive's remarks, wrote Gonzales.

An interagency government panel with which Gonzales said Rove "played no part" approved the merger less than two months after Rove met with the Intel executives.

Rep. Henry Waxman, the ranking Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, asked about Rove's meetings after the disclosure this month that he owned stock in an array of companies with interests before the Bush administration.

Phil Schilero, the congressional panel's minority staff director, said Gonzales' letter fails to provide dates of the meetings, who attended, the subjects discussed or Rove's recollection of any views he expressed.

"We appreciate the good-faith effort to provide a response ... but we didn't ask for conclusions; we asked for specific information," said Schilero. The White House counsel concluded Rove violated no ethics rules.

Rove did not seek a waiver that would have enabled him to participate in particular matters despite his stock holdings. Gonzales said Rove did not need a waiver because he "took care to avoid" participating in any matter at the White House that would affect his financial interests.

On June 7, Rove sold his Enron stock for $68,200 and his stock in General Electric for $79,700. In all, Rove sold $1.5 million in stocks that day in nearly two dozen companies in sectors including high-tech, financial and pharmaceutical.

AP-ES-06-29-01 1931EDT