The Left likes to leak information because once it's out they know their army of flying monkeys will harass and intimidate the individual. The idea is not so much punishment of that individual, although that's part of it and it satisfies their witch burning mentality. The real purpose is to put on a show for others to observe and take in fully, so if they themselves are ever in a position of potential influence they'll have the thought in the back of their mind that they'll be the Left's next target.
How many times have we seen the Left using supposedly confidential information about their opponents? Hell, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate got in front of the full Senate and accused Mitt Romney of not paying taxes for the past 10 years, that "sources" had provided Romney's tax returns.
Obama got a "sealed" divorce record unsealed, and used it against his opponent back when he was still on the Democrats' farm team in state politics.
The founder of Mozilla got targeted for donating $1000 to Prop 8 supporters six years ago, and the Left used it to drum him out of his job. They're the most intolerant conformists imaginable, and they will literally put their perceived enemies into camps or graves if they are not stopped.