A congressional official briefed on the reviews said the administration felt compelled to say publicly that the revelations had seriously damaged American interests in order to bolster legal efforts to shut down the WikiLeaks website and bring charges against the leakers. [..] "We were told (the impact of WikiLeaks revelations) was embarrassing but not damaging," said the official
In other words, they lied to the public to bolster their legal case against someone who had publicly embarrassed them. Well, color me surprised.