Here's why the White House leakers leak

It seems that every time there's a closed-door meeting at the White House, within minutes of it ending — and sometimes even before it's over — one or more attendees will call or text their favorite reporter and spill every detail.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders held a meeting about the leaks, and the details promptly leaked. Jonathan Swan of Axios asked his sources inside the White House why they leak, and they were refreshingly honest. One senior official said most leaks are "the result of someone losing an internal policy debate," and another shared that staffers leak due to "personal vendettas," and also to "make sure there's an accurate record of what's really going on in the White House."

One former official said they leaked information "out of frustration with incompetent or tone-deaf leadership," and found leaking to be "strategic and tactical — strategic to drive narrative, tactical to settle scores." A staffer that really put some thought into this told Swan that they pay attention to idioms used by their colleagues and "use that in my background quotes. That throws the scent off me."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up