In the end, what the government calls leaks are, 9 times out of 10, what reporters call an essential part of reporting. ADADAny criminal referral for a leak of classified information has to pass an 11-point test. One dilemma for the CIA, in my day, was that by filing a crimes report saying classified information had leaked, it was confirming that the information was true. A refresher: Comey testified to Congress in May 2017 about the counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the election. Here, as in so much else, including his mad pursuit of dirt on former vice president Joe Biden, Trump chose to believe Russia disinformation.

Source: Washington Post January 18, 2020 19:07 UTC