STRATEGY

Trump Staffers Impersonate Each Other When They Leak

One leaker said they’ll use another’s idioms in background quotes to throw “the scent off” them.

The most “prolific” White House leakers will impersonate each other so they won’t be suspected of leaking, according to Axios. The Daily Beast also confirmed the use of the tactic among leakers. “To cover my tracks, I usually pay attention to other staffers’ idioms and use that in my background quotes. That throws the scent off me,” one White House source told the site. Other leakers were quoted as saying they shared information with reporters as an easy way to settle scores within the White House, a way to act out on “personal vendettas,” and out of sheer frustration with the leadership. They also said there was a strategic element involved—whether it be getting an “accurate record of what’s really going on in the White House” out to the public, to “drive narrative,” or to give them an opportunity to win a policy debate. “By leaking the decision, the loser gets one last chance to kill it with blowback from the public, Congress or even the President,” a source said.