1. Why am I hearing this?
2. Why am I hearing this now?
I hear an agenda being pushed, at great effort, with the assistance of that great impartial arbiter of Truth, the NYTimes. Someone is attempting the "death by 10,000 paper cuts" method of PR warfare. No substance. Just speculation.
Not that the NYTimes is any worse than other news outlets in this regard. It's just a reminder to be skeptical.