external threat of foreign attempts at interference.

I know a lot here won't want to hear that because Trump is so atrocious, but it is true..and the leaks are worrying a LOT of people in the intelligence community both liberal and conservative.

For two centuries our military, and in the 20th century, intelligence agencies have devoted themselves to defending our Constitution. Not our "country". Not the President, not our "government". Part of that meant obeying the orders and respecting the democratically elected Commander in Chief. When one was unable to comply because they felt the POTUS was wrong, they were to honorably resign their commission and oppose the POTUS through the proper channels.

Unfortunately, that culture of respecting the Constitution has changed. It started with Obama, and leaks from those who did not like him. But it has now gone full force with leaks from those who oppose Trump. And the change in this culture will NOT disappear on its own once the next POTUS takes office.

The risk of this new culture is that one can do almost anything against the elected POTUS for political ideology. Such a culture risks the establishment of a real "Deep State" as something more than a conspiracy theory. It makes our intelligence agencies unanswerable to civilian authority..and it allows them much more power in psyche=ops against our own people.

Politically I align very much with Comey BUT his admission that he "leaked" (in all practical purposes if not by the legal definition) information on the Trump investigation in order to try to influence the appointment of a special counsel made me lose all respect for him and raised danger signals about our government overall. Little would stop Comey from offering such a recommendation as his personal opinion in his official report which is what he SHOULD have done. If the HEAD of an intelligence agency thinks the anonymous leaking of partial facts to the media to influence popular opinion is ok, who can blame young interpreter from thinking she can do the same?

The Russians we can deal with. We have now seen the enemy and he is us.