The Director of National Intelligence last week warned the Senate Intelligence Agency that deliberate leaks of government information will “remain a significant threat” during President Donald Trump’s tenure.
This week's Washington Post story is a prime example of what some call a "deep state" -- a slow drip of classified information meant to undermine an elected leader.
“It makes our allies hesitant in sharing information with us, and it also I think erodes confidence on the part of the American public in the competence of the government they have,” says national security expert Edward Turzanski.
Turzanski says the problem with insider leaks is they can be incomplete, untrue or so true they put American intelligence officials in harm's way.
“Quite a few people believe holdovers from the previous adminstration are throwing sand in the gears, and this is where the president bears some responsibility because the administration has been very slow in populating government with its own people,” he says.
Turzanski says while White House leaks may achieve a short-term goal, they're never good for anyone.
“Let's say you're someone who doesn't like Trump and you see this happening and you're very pleased by it, but in the fullness of time maybe your candidate is going to be in the White House, when it happens to that person I'm going to bet you're not going to like it.”