Moreover, these systems provide a crucial record trail that may be needed down the road if the matter escalates to trial.
If the matter escalates to that point, the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the secretary of state, are very likely to get involved in resolving the dispute, said Thomas E. Zehnle, a tax lawyer at Bryan Cave.
The rapid loss of Arctic ice has been a matter of escalating concern to climate scientists.
The matter escalated into a full-blown scandal, and more than a dozen former News of the World employees have been arrested so far on suspicion of phone hacking and paying police officers for information.
The matter escalated into a federal case.
How the matter escalated to a duel is also the subject of some uncertainty.
Anxiety over the matter escalated last week after President Obama told an audience in Elkhart, Ind., that companies "can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime".
But the flow of leaks ceased in more recent days as diplomatic steps to address the matter escalated: King Salman of Saudi Arabia called Mr. Erdogan and sent a high-level delegation.
They also say the Justice Department has joined the F.B.I. in fighting the Congressional requests for information related to the matter, escalating tensions.
The matter escalated, Mr. Waple said, after one of the women hacked into Colonel Saleh's e-mail account on June 7, stole e-mail messages he had sent and circulated them among the women.
Was it your fault, or your friend's fault that the matter escalated this far?
