Or just a writer of fiction. Do you believe a thing is true just because the NYT says so? I say this was written by a NYT employee, and I have just as much proof this is true.
"The mystery has been solved. We have identified the writer, and this person is an employee of the NYT who has never even visited the White House. We could reveal the person's name, but we are withholding it for now. We expect that the NYT will fire this person and we will be disappointed if they do not. This has been a shameful episode in American journalism and perhaps the worst example of Fake News ever."
What would the NYT do? Reveal their source in the White House?