BROOKE BALDWIN (HOST): We're talking about this leak, although there's been discussion as to whether or not it could be constituted as whistleblower status versus leak here, this memo. What do you think? 

BRIAN STELTER: I think largely the conversation about leaks is a side show. It's a talking point for conservative media to say the president had a good day and not a very bad day here. Look, if you are -- if you are James Comey, and you feel there is a problem at the top of our government, what do you do? You tell a couple of your friends, and you try to get the word out however you can. Whatever the president said to Comey, it's not necessarily classified, not necessarily privileged. Not every conversation they had was a secret. But this White House seems to be trying to keep a lot of secrets. That was my takeaway all morning, Brooke, was that there's a lot of secrets inside this White House. Is he taping conversations or not? That's a secret. We're not going to tell you the answer. And I can't help but think who's really the winner today? Is it Vladimir Putin? You know, this is -- Comey's telling the country to pay attention to this crisis, this attack by Russia. And he says it's going to happen again. And yet what do we hear a lot today? Partisan squabbling. The left and the right bickering all over social media and sometimes on television about who's right and who's wrong here. Russian propaganda outlets are loving this today, Brooke.

Previously:

Right-Wing Media Latch On To “Shadow Government” Conspiracy To Absolve Trump From Russia Controversy

The Susan Rice Unmasking Story Is A Perfect Case Study Of The New Pro-Trump Propaganda Ecosystem

Watch Mike Huckabee's Anti-Media Meltdown As He Tries To Defend Trump's Revealing Classified Information to Russia