If giving him the intel put them in a bind, why give it to him at all? What was their goal? Did the NSA truly not envision the scenario of being trapped between a rock and a hard place as a possible outcome? They sound more like Keystone Cops.

Edit: so the original post made it sound like the NSA the institution gave him the intel, rather than a leaker from the NSA.

If giving him the intel put them in a bind, why give it to him at all? What was their goal? Did the NSA truly not envision the scenario of being trapped between a rock and a hard place as a possible outcome? They sound more like Keystone Cops.