I've caped before for the NYT so I understand if yall side eye me, but I do think it's deeper than rap when it comes to the Rosenstein saga. When necessary, spreading misinformation has always been in the FBI's toolbox albeit typically internationally (that we know of) outside of like COINTELPRO. The reaction to the news is just so contrary to what we'd normally expect (with the Republicans calling it a set up orchestrated by RR) that I think it is worth acknowledging the possibility that NYT isn't putting the country in jeopardy with their article and fully comprehend the potential ramifications in a way that is not obvious to us in the public. IIRC, they cite McCabe as a source. Why would McCabe be giving information that dirties RR to reporters? The fact that it was Michael Schmidt instead of the often questioned Maggie Haberman is also interesting to me.