Washington  - Karl Rove, a top former White House aide, was held in contempt Wednesday by a congressional committee for failing to appear before legislators earlier this month.

The Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives voted 20- 14 along party lines for the measure after Rove did not attend a committee hearing July 10. The contempt charge would still have to be approved by the House.

Mr Rove has left us no option," said House representative John Conyers, who chairs the committee.

Rove had been subpoenaed by the committee in connection with the prosecution of a former Alabama governor on corruption charges. The subpoena was part of a wider congressional investigation into political meddling in the Justice Department's actions.

Democrats have argued that former governor Don Siegelman's prosecution was politically motivated and that Rove had pressured the Justice Department into bringing the charges. An internal department watchdog is investigating the allegations.

The full House has already held two other White House aides in contempt this year - former chief of staff Joshua Bolton and White House counsel Harriet Miers - in connection with the same investigation.

The White House has barred Rove and others from appearing before the congressional committees, citing executive privilege - a controversial rule of privacy that is regularly contested between the government branches. (dpa)