He concedes that this is a leak, therefore conceding that this is in the court record. Otherwise, he would be calling it all a fabrication and he has been careful not to do that. Nonetheless he refuses to admit to it -- and yet he stops short of any claim that he's being slandered/libeled, for if he did that the original news sources could challenge him to settle the matter in court where people and documents would be subpoenaed. This is the last thing he wants, so he continues to evade and looks worse and worse, solidifying the public impression that he did exactly what he's reputed to have done and is still lying about it, just as he lied when he initially denied that the Ritter in question was him.