Uncertainty and confusion appear to reign in Washington after a steady flow of leaks over the past week ranging from reports that senior White House adviser Jared Kushner tried to set up backchannel communications with Russia to the unauthorized release of information about the U.K.'s investigation into the Manchester attack.

Members of President Trump's administration and Congress on Sunday were guarded on talk shows when speaking about the recent White House leaks, uncertain whether to believe recent reports but well aware of their ramifications if true.

Many indicated they would withhold judgement until the reports were fully investigated and pressed for investigators to do so.

The White House, which has been struggling with leaks since the president assumed office, has sent mixed signals about how it plans to handle them.

Trump on Sunday claimed many of the recent leaks coming out of his White House are made up. "It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media," the president tweeted Sunday. However, Trump also last week called for an investigation into “deeply troubling” leaks of sensitive intelligence, including the information leaked about the Manchester bombing. He vowed his administration “will get to the bottom of this” because they “pose a grave threat to our national security.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday said he's not sure where the "outrageous" leaks related to the attack in Manchester, England, came from, but said if they came from the U.S., it is "totally unacceptable."

"I don't know where the leak came from," he said. "And, if it came from the United States, it’s totally unacceptable."

Kelly also had some strong words for the leakers themselves.

"I don’t know why people do these kind of things, but it’s borderline, if not over the line, of treason," he said during an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press."

"It jeopardizes not only investigations, but puts peoples' lives in jeopardy. I don't know why people do it but they do, and that's the world we live in," he continued during an appearance on on "Fox News Sunday."

Kelly's comments came after a string of intelligence disclosures that angered some key U.S. allies.

Police in Manchester said they would stop sharing information with their U.S. counterparts after photos appearing to show remnants from the bomb were published by The New York Times.

The name of the alleged bomber was also published in U.S. news outlets before it was officially announced by U.K. authorities.

Also last week, multiple reports said Trump's son-in-law Kushner was under new "scrutiny" in the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The Washington Post also reported that Kushner sought to set up a backchannel between the Trump transition team and Moscow. Several high profile politicians on Sunday called these reports "rumors" but expressed hope for clarification.

"I don't know if it's true or not," Kelly said on "Fox News Sunday." "I know it's being reported in the press."

He went on to dismiss concerns that the rumor, if true, was not "a good thing."

"It doesn't bother me," he said. "You just have to assume, obviously, that what you're getting is — may or may not be true."