All presidential administrations leak, but "so far, the Trump White House has gushed," says The Washington Post's Paul Farhi. "The breadth of the leaks has surprised — and, of course, delighted — journalists," he adds, noting that reporters aren't quite sure what's driving the unprecedented look behind the scenes in the White House and the executive orders Trump's team is mulling over.
Some journalists view the leaks as the byproduct of a rivalry-torn White House rife with senior officials trying to sideline the competition, others see it as a form of whistle-blowing to expose damaging policy before it is enacted, some suspect the leaks are policy trial balloons, while others still suggest Trump officials are just taking a cue from their rules-flouting boss. "I tend to think chaos begets chaos begets chaos, and that's what we're seeing here," a reporter familiar with some of the senior players tells Farhi. Trump says he thinks the leaks are coming from career national security staffers, and he's firing them.
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