What Did The President Know and When Did He Know It?

We're getting pretty clsoe to having to ask that question:

An angry President Bush rebuked chief political guru Karl Rove two years ago for his role in the Valerie Plame affair, sources told the Daily News.

"He made his displeasure known to Karl," a presidential counselor told The News. "He made his life miserable about this." [...]

Bush was initially furious with Rove in 2003 when his deputy chief of staff conceded he had talked to the press about the Plame leak.

Bush has always known that Rove often talks with reporters anonymously and he generally approved of such contacts, one source said.

Bush has said repeatedly "If somebody in my Administration leaked information, I want to know who it is." He's said that for two years. This article seems to suggest he did know who it was, and he did know the severity of the situation. I always considered it bizarre that he would say that he was clueless about the whole thing. It would take 10 seconds for George Bush to walk up to Karl Rove and ask "Are you involved in this?" Indeed, in many of these briefings where the President bloviates about "I want to know if someone leaked classified information," Rove is IN THE ROOM. I'm willing to believe the President is in the dark, but not THAT MUCH in the dark.

I'm assuming this revelation is leaked to distance Rove from the President. Of course, here's the next paragraph:

As special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald nears a decision, perhaps as early as today, on whether to issue indictments in his two-year probe, Bush has already circled the wagons around Rove, whose departure would be a grievous blow to an already shell-shocked White House staff and a President in deep political trouble.

"Karl is fighting for his life," the official added, "but anything he did was done to help George W. Bush. The President knows that and appreciates that."

So the President (1) approves generally of Karl Rove talking with reporters anonymously, (2) appreciates that Rove leaked a CIA agent's name in order to "help him," and (3) is "circling the wagons" around Rove to protect him from the political fallout.

That's conspiracy. That's "Do what you have to do, just keep me in the dark about it." I can now see the President as an unindicted co-conspirator in this case.