“The fact of the matter is, some of the worst damage done to our intelligence community has come not from penetration by spies, but from unauthorized leaks by those with access to classified information.”

Once again, it would help if Mr. Hoekstra and those of like mind would get the intelligence community to make public the details of a half-dozen or so instances from among those countless unauthorized leaks where a clear line of causation between leak and harm to intelligence capabilities can be shown.

It’s often asserted that to provide such instances would do further, unacceptable damage to present intelligence capabilities. In many cases that’s undoubtedly so, but it’s hard to believe that there aren’t a few historical instances in which the presumed good of inhibiting future leaks would outweigh the residual harm resulting from making a detailed, credible case.