SIEVE, SIEVE, SIEVE....:

On Sunday Axios caught up with some of the administration's most prolific leakers to ask them why they do it. Some said it's about doing what's right for America ... and annoying their enemies:

"The most common substantive leaks are the result of someone losing an internal policy debate," a current senior administration official told me. "By leaking the decision, the loser gets one last chance to kill it with blowback from the public, Congress or even the President."

"To be honest, it probably falls into a couple of categories," one current White House official tells me. "The first is personal vendettas. And two is to make sure there's an accurate record of what's really going on in the White House."

Another said the atmosphere in the White House is basically leak or be leaked about:

"Otherwise," the official added, "you have to realize that working here is kind of like being in a never-ending 'Mexican Standoff.' Everyone has guns (leaks) pointed at each other and it's only a matter of time before someone shoots. There's rarely a peaceful conclusion so you might as well shoot first."

But the most interesting response concerned how they go about spilling anonymous quotes to reporters:

"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," the current White House official added.

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