'Culture of intimidation': Trump aides' efforts to plug leaks fuels 'toxic' atmosphere of paranoia

President Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used his first senior staff meeting last month to tell his new aides he would not tolerate leaks to the news media, sources familiar with the matter said.

Current and former officials said that in a departure from past practice, access to a classified computer system at the White House has been tightened by political appointees to prevent professional staffers from seeing memos being prepared for the new president.

And at the Department of Homeland Security, some officials told Reuters they fear a witch hunt is under way for the leaker of a draft intelligence report which found little evidence that citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries covered by Trump's now-suspended travel ban pose a threat to the United States.

The clampdown has fueled paranoia among Washington career civil servants who say it appears designed to try to limit the flow of information inside and outside government and deter officials from talking to the media about topics that could result in negative stories.

Some reports of government dysfunction have infuriated Trump just weeks into his presidency. Trump has described media outlets as "lying", "corrupt", "failing" and "the enemy of the American people."

At a Feb. 16 news conference, Trump said: "The leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake" and that he had asked the Department of Justice to look into leaks of "classified information that was given illegally" to journalists regarding the relationship between his aides and Russia.

Several officials in different agencies who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said some employees fear their phone calls and emails may be monitored and that they are reluctant to speak their minds during internal discussions.

In addition, the sources say that limits imposed on the flow of information have blindsided cabinet-level officials on some major issues and led to uncertainty among foreign governments about U.S. policy.

In perhaps the most trenchant effort to deter leaks, White House spokesman Sean Spicer demanded that some aides there surrender their phones so they could be checked for calls or texts to reporters, Politico reported on Sunday.

Word of the inspection quickly leaked.

EFFORTS TO PLUG LEAKS NOT NEW

Two sources familiar with Mnuchin's first meeting with senior Treasury staff said he told them that their telephone calls and emails could be monitored to prevent leaks. One of the sources said that staff were told that monitoring could become policy.

Asked about Mnuchin's comments to his senior staff, a Treasury spokesman said: "Secretary Mnuchin had a discussion with staff about confidential information not being shared with the media nor any other sources. In the course of that conversation, the idea of checking phones was not discussed."

Asked in a follow-up email whether Mnuchin had raised the possibility of monitoring phones or emails as a matter of policy, the Treasury spokesman replied: "It was not discussed."

Attempts by Republican and Democratic presidents to limit leaks are not new.

During Republican Richard Nixon's administration, the FBI wiretapped White House aides and journalists. Trump's predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, aggressively pursued leaks to try to "control the narrative," as White House aides put it.

New York Times reporter James Risen, whose articles led to investigations of leaks, said the Obama administration prosecuted nine cases involving whistleblowers and leakers, compared with three by all previous administrations combined.

Leonard Downie, a former executive editor of the Washington Post, said it was too early to make historical comparisons, and that it is rare to learn about an administration's internal efforts to impose message discipline.

'CLIMATE OF INTIMIDATION'

At the State Department, the fear of getting caught in a leak investigation or running afoul of White House positions is so acute that some officials will discuss issues only face-to-face rather than use phones, email, texts or other messaging applications, two State Department officials said.

"There is a climate of intimidation, not just about talking to reporters, but also about communicating with colleagues," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner did not respond directly to the officials' statements but said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson aimed to foster an open climate where new ideas are raised and considered on their merits.

"There does have to be some degree of trust among colleagues in order to have those kinds of conversations," Toner said.

There also is high anxiety in parts of DHS, officials there said.

"The atmosphere has become toxic, and that is not conducive to the work," said a DHS official on condition of anonymity.

They said officials fear phone calls and emails are being monitored to try to find who leaked the draft intelligence report to the Associated Press.

The report found that being a citizen of countries covered by Trump's Jan. 27 temporary immigration ban - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - was "an unreliable indicator of terrorist threat."

The Homeland Security Department did not respond to three requests for comment.

Some examples of how the administration is trying to limit the flow of information are relatively subtle, but significant.

Before Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, National Security Council officials drafting memos, or "packages," for the president on a classified computer system could choose other officials who should have input.

Under a change made after Trump took office, staffers cannot choose who may see and edit a memo. Instead, access is approved by the office of the NSC executive secretary, retired Army lieutenant general Keith Kellogg.

Asked about the new restrictions, National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton said: "President Trump takes very seriously the criminal release of classified information critical to U.S. national security. Access procedures are designed to ensure that appropriate personnel see material relevant to their duties, while protecting sensitive information."

One U.S. official called the new system "inefficient," saying Kellogg's office may not know who has "equities" in a given issue and may not share the drafts widely enough.

Another administration official said the White House changed the access procedures about a month ago in reaction to leaks of the contents of Trump's conversations with the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Australia.

"It was changed in response to two very significant leaks," said the administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This was a reactive move on the NSC’s part."

Asked if the change had made the NSC less efficient, this official replied: "No, because we are being conscientious about ensuring that all relevant staff members and experts are included on materials that they need to see."

Steven Aftergood of the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, which works to limit official secrecy, said the policy change suggested the White House wants to tighten control over internal deliberations.

"Why would it do that? Perhaps in order to discourage leaks. Or perhaps it lacks confidence and trust in the existing NSC staff," said Aftergood. "From a management perspective, this move seems like a mistake.

"Restricting information workflow this way adds friction to the deliberative process, making it more cumbersome and less responsive," he added. "Inferior policy decisions are a likely result."

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel Additional reporting by John Walcott, Julia Edwards Ainsley, Steve Holland, David Lawder and Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)