2/8     Why do government officials sometimes talk about something on condition
        of anonymity?  If what they're saying is not supposed to leak out and
        they worry about being caught, they shouldn't even say that they
        represent the government, right?
        \_ Reporters generally contact them, not the other way around.
        \_ Sometimes they do that because letting the information be
           known is beneficial to them or to their superiors, or damaging
           to their adversaries , but the fact that they leaked the
           information would be a negative for them.  Other times it's
           because the reporter is good and the person owes the reporter
           a favour.
        \_ i think it is a way the officials use to test an initial
           response from the public.  same thing happens in the corporate
           sector.