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Office politics among [[Civil Service Commission|civil servant]]s can cause leaking; while the civil service with a [[bi-partisan]] staff is supposedly unaffected by politics, when faced with a slow moving or deadlocked decision a staff must make, one member may try to extend their personal power and influence by reaching outside the normal decision making process, and bring public pressure to bare, by leaking.  

Office politics among [[Civil Service Commission|civil servant]]s can cause leaking; while the civil service with a [[bi-partisan]] staff is supposedly unaffected by politics, when faced with a slow moving or deadlocked decision a staff must make, one member may try to extend their personal power and influence by reaching outside the normal decision making process, and bring public pressure to bare, by leaking.  

Illegal leaking can be devastating to [[law enforcement]] and [[national security]] investigations. [[Bureaucracy|Bureacrat]]s sometimes use illegal leaks in so-called "CYA memos," colloquily known as "cover-your-butt" memos to create deniability or the appearance of exculpatory evidence for wrongdoing.

Illegal leaking can be devastating to [[law enforcement]] and [[national security]] investigations. [[Bureaucracy|Bureacrat]]s sometimes use illegal leaks in so-called "CYA memos," For this a strict confidentiality understanding between reporter and leaker is needed.  known as "cover-your-butt" memos to create deniability or the appearance of exculpatory evidence for wrongdoing.

Illegal leaks can be the bread and butter of a legitimate, respectable [[mainstream media|mainstream]] journalist. While the risk is all on the leaker, the reporter gets all the glory for digging out the scoop. Under the [[First Amendment]] the reporter can't be charged, but the leaker could be jailed. For this a strict confidentiality understanding between reporter and leaker is needed. Both convince themselves they are serving the greater good by informing the public about government abuses or corruption; just as often the duplicitous collusion between journalists and bureaucrats is used for [[partisan]] purposes to influence elections.

Illegal leaks can be the bread and butter of a legitimate, respectable [[mainstream media|mainstream]] journalist. While the risk is all on the leaker, the reporter gets all the glory for digging out the scoop. Under the [[First Amendment]] the reporter can't be charged, but the leaker could be jailed. For this a strict confidentiality understanding between reporter and leaker is needed. Both convince themselves they are serving the greater good by informing the public about government abuses or corruption; just as often the duplicitous collusion between journalists and bureaucrats is used for [[partisan]] purposes to influence elections.