By Jon Harris:
Even memos about the leaks are getting leaked these days…
President Trump’s administration is flooding with informational leaks. Leaks on policy, leaks on executive orders, leaks on negotiations, and lately, leaks on memos about leaks. This is getting ridiculous. Leaks of this type have been happening since the election of President Trump, and the issue has gone beyond the partisan limits. They are detrimental to the nation, and must be stopped.
There have always been leaks of briefings, information, and memos; today’s press lives off sources, usually unnamed, that leak information to the news outlets. News organizations are very protective of their sources so as to cultivate and glean more information. The “scoop” that no one else gets is highly coveted.
There is competition among news agencies to get the best, the first, and the inside story. What the media is doing now is much more than trying to get that story. In the current administration, the practice and particular motivation of the news media have become harmful to the nation and the American people.
Since President Trump took office, leaks from inside the administration are rampant. Just this last week, a memo from the State Department about the constant leaks was itself immediately leaked to the press.
Journalists—as well as many of the organizations they work for—are no longer after the news but seem to be following a very biased agenda. What is missed in this tactic is the harm done by second- and third-order effects. Purposely attempting to harm the Trump presidency through their attacks, the news media is causing harm to the country. Leaks of classified information put military operations at risk. Policies that need adjusting and negotiations with politicians foreign and domestic are circumvented by information leaks. This constant exposure of confidential information hinders the day-to-day operation of the government.
The other issue with this constant leaking of information and the subsequent reporting of the same is that the information is often wrong. Often the information is in rough form and was never something that would be used by the administration.
Past leaks
Each presidential administration has had its share of leaks. New York Times investigative reporter James Risen pointed to the priority placed on national security by the George W. Bush administration after the September 2001 terror attacks. Prosecutors during the Bush years, and then especially under Obama, pursued cases in ways that discouraged sources from sharing information with news organizations. A record number of reporters found themselves in court facing legal jeopardy.
Mr. Risen, in a recent article, said, “If Donald J. Trump decides as president to throw a whistle-blower in jail for trying to talk to a reporter or gets the FBI to spy on a journalist, he will have one man to thank for bequeathing him such expansive power: Barack Obama.”
The bottom line is that the leaks need to stop. The tenor and motivation are not about news; it is about harming the president and in turn harming the nation. President Trump is working to get a handle on the leaks in his White House information boat before it takes on too much water. What the journalists are forgetting is that if they harm the president for whatever reason, they harm the country right along with him.
Consequences
Some of the leakers are violating the Espionage Act. Some are violating other federal statutes. It is highly likely that when a reporter in contact with an inside source convinces them to break the law by giving up classified information, the reporter is dangerously close to the realm of criminal conspiracy.
Last week, White House press secretary Sean Spicer conducted a surprise phone check on his staff to stamp out leaks, according to a new Politico report. The search applied to both personal and government-issued phones and was overseen by White House lawyers. Spicer then warned staffers against using privacy-focused messaging apps like Signal and Confide, noting that doing so violates the Federal Records Act. He also, per Politico’s sources, “warned the group of more problems if news of the phone checks and the meeting about leaks was leaked to the media,” which it promptly was.
The leakers are breaking the law as well as their oath, not to mention their government employment contracts. Whether the leakers are insiders trying to enhance their position, Obama holdovers seeking to harm the new administration, or staffers with an axe to grind, they need to be dealt with publicly and harshly. The continued leaking of sensitive or classified information must stop before the administration, the nation, and in turn, the news establishment itself suffer real damage due to their loss of objectivity and public confidence.
By the way, no unnamed/anonymous sources were used for this article.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
To contact or book OpsLens contributors on your program or utilize our staff for your story, contact [email protected].
