Does the Obama administration have a leak problem?

President Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama answers reporters' questions during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House June 8, 2012 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As President Obama's administration publicly denounces the leaking of classified information, his campaign has also benefited from several leaks that appeared to enhance his image.

Lawmakers have accused him of pushing out leaks as part of his reelection campaign.

White House Politico reporter Josh Gerstein will join The Daily Circuit Thursday to discuss how the president's image-making campaign is at odds with the administration's own crackdown on leakers. He recently wrote a piece titles "The leak wars" for Politico.

Paul Pillar, director of graduate studies at Georgetown University's Security Studies program, will join the discussion.

"If anyone has any good ideas for new procedures or penalties to ameliorate the problem, bravo," Pillar wrote for The National Interest. "But as the committee leaders put it with understatement, 'the problem of leaks of classified information is not new.' The sad fact is that most leaks are inherently difficult to investigate and police.

KERRI'S TAKEAWAY

Most headlines driven by leaks are authorized, but no one in the administration is saying that.

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