"Could this be the reason their photofits were leaked to the press?"

Maybe but I doubt it. The two e-fits were developed by some questionable private investigators the McCann's hired themselves and not the Portuguese Police. And the e-fits weren't released until many months later, maybe even years later. Obviously creating e-fits but not releasing them doesn't help catch the "real" kidnappers.

So why make them? I'd argue the two private investigators created those e-fits to look exactly like John and Tony Podesta on purpose. They then used the threat of releasing those two efits in an attempt to exhort money from the Podesta brothers.

That explains both shocking similarity to the Podesta's and the extended amount of time between when they were made and when they were released. The creators wanted to give John and Tony the most time possible to cough up some money. When they didn't they released them and the rest is history.

:-D