It is why many continue to brief me on a regular basis, and why they continue to employ PR professionals to help guide them.
A White House spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity because the program was classified, said, "We continue to brief the appropriate members of Congress as we have been for the last several years".
His first brief – a driving case – was from a firm of solicitors in Sussex, and they continued to brief him for many years until, in 1998, he was instructed by them in the case of Siôn Jenkins, convicted of the murder of his foster daughter Billie-Jo.
Defense lawyers were instructed by the court during the proceedings to "honor the spirit" of the gag order, they said, after the special public prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said he would file a petition of contempt of court if lawyers for the defendants continued to brief the media on developments.
In addition to the public and closed hearings scheduled in key congressional committees this week, the administration will continue to brief the full membership.
"A lot of people feel betrayed by it," said HD Moore, an executive at security firm Rapid 7, though he said he would continue to brief the NSA on software flaws that the agency uses for both offensive and defensive cyber activities.
They are also scheduled to go before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and other administration officials are continuing to brief lawmakers in closed settings.
10.16pm BST The Guardian's Dan Roberts sends the latest report from the White House pool, advising that "the president continues to be briefed on the investigation by his national security team".
At a minimum, it seemed clear that members of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees would continue to be briefed.
The IMF said on Thursday that its executive board continued to be briefed on the court case and retained confidence in Lagarde's ability to lead the organisation.
