NYT is printing fake stories. And it might be someone in the CIA who was involved in trying to buy dirt from the Russians, trying to cover their butt, and incriminating themselves if it's true, in their attempt to cover it up. Of course, lying to the press or citizens is legal, but lying to the public is a good reason to fire someone.
After all, why would the NSA and CIA think Russia had some dirt on Trump, when the CIA, NSA and FBI didn't? Maybe because Obama knew Putin had dirt on him and Hillary and was desperate to get some dirt on Trump to help make sure Hillary was elected and others didn't find out.