July 14 (Bloomberg) -- On TV recently, I called him a thug, this then-unknown leaker who watched from his privileged White House perch as my friend and colleague, Matt Cooper, went through hell to protect him.

Now that I know that the person is Karl Rove, I would like to revise and extend my remarks. Karl Rove is not a thug; he is a coward. Two years ago, he could have come clean, orchestrated his own redemption, saved millions in taxpayers' dollars, and spared everyone a lot of agony.

Instead, we've had a two-year investigation to find out what President George W. Bush could have walked across the hall and learned.

At one time, the president called the outing of the CIA agent married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson ``a very serious matter'' and said the person who did it should be fired. In certain circumstances, exposing an undercover agent is a crime. In any circumstances, it's wrong.

At least six reporters were leaked information suggesting that Wilson was a girlie man who needed his wife to get him a job. Rove and others were angry that Wilson had debunked their assertion that Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium for his weapons of mass destruction, an assessment shared by George Tenet, CIA director at the time.

Scott's Smackdown

For months, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said it was ridiculous to suspect Rove. ``If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration,'' he said. Statements like that turned a press briefing two days ago into a rare smackdown of McClellan, who was suddenly mum on Rove. When the 35th question in as many minutes came at him, his made-up face looked as gray as his suit. I thought he might cry.

It's high time heat shifted to the West Wing where it belongs. But that doesn't mean the reporters who were used by their sources are off the hook. Ironically, the reporter in jail, Judith Miller, didn't even write a story, perhaps because she was burned earlier for relying on anonymous sources who used her to plump for war against Saddam.

Her New York Times colleague Frank Rich noted in his column one Miller piece in particular -- ``a notoriously credulous front- page story about aluminum tubes'' -- that fueled the hawks around Bush. When the Times took the unusual step of apologizing for its WMD reporting, 10 of the 12 stories cited contained Miller's byline.

Long Goodbye

But all that's forgotten now as Miller pays the high price of prison. Cooper, who's not gone to jail, through no fault of his own, has less of a storybook ending to his ordeal. The ground shifted under him when his bosses at Time magazine turned over his e-mails, citing the gravity of the Supreme Court's rejection of the reporters' appeals, as well as shareholders.

Cooper had no secret source left to protect but he still stuck by his promise. On July 6, sure he'd be booked and fingerprinted later that day for not testifying about a moot point, he said a long goodbye to his wife and six-year-old son. But that morning Cooper's lawyer, after reading in the Wall Street Journal that Rove was happy to waive any confidentiality agreements, accepted one for Cooper. Although he surely had little new to say, Cooper testified yesterday.

Cooper's two-year nightmare may be over but Bush's is not. Rove is the guy Bush relies on to deep-six the smoking gun. What will he do now that Rove is the smoking gun?

Rove the Unique

No one's quite like Rove. Remember the 2000 presidential primary in South Carolina, when Bush was saved with a little help from rumors about John McCain's black child and drug-addled wife? It was Rove to the rescue last month when, amid sinking support for the war, he bolstered the commander in chief by claiming that after 9/11 Bush was ready to go to war while the Democrats were ready to go to therapy.

Without Rove to construct them, Republicans' talking points are atrocious. They cling to the fact that Rove didn't reveal the name of that woman, Valerie Plame. Sound familiar? All day the last two days, that's what they said.

So this is how the investigation of leaks ends, in new leaks, perhaps from the prosecutor investigating the leaks. Cooper kept a secret for two years. Someone around the prosecutor couldn't keep one for two days, so there came Newsweek, disclosing the Time e-mails that revealed Rove fingering Wilson's wife.

Rove may end up leaving the White House, but he'll do the same things, only in a different location for a lot more money. The Times may cleanse itself of its WMD reporting with the sacrifice of its reporter going to jail.

Perhaps some good will come of this. Surely, journalists have been reminded they should say no to those cowards trying to get revenge, dish dirt, and score points without putting their name on it. Protection goes to those who want to correct an injustice, not perpetrate one.

To contact the writer of this column: Margaret Carlson at mcarlson3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 14, 2005 00:12 EDT