So much for stealth.

Usually, people involved in active covert operations in the interests of national security don’t blab about it to the New York Times.

Why would they jeopardize their operations? Why would they even say that such an operation exists?

It’s Spy vs. Spy 101, yes? I mean, every James (or Jane) Bond wannabe knows than secret agents work in, uh, secrecy. If there is to be any recognition for services rendered, it would come well after the mission is accomplished.

So, one has to wonder why the so-called White House “resistance” team working to “thwart Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses” went public in the New York Times with an admission that such a team exists. If they really do exist, why would they jeopardize their own mission and risk facing criminal charges?

And one has to wonder about the editors of the New York Times who chose to run the anonymous op-ed piece. Surely they must have asked the writer why he or she was bringing it to the Times and was willing to jeopardize the covert operation — because you know the “resistance” team, if it really exists, will be rooted out now and fired, if not arrested and charged. Surely the Times editors must trust their source.

Let’s give the editors of the Times the benefit of the doubt for now, and believe that the article came from a bona-fide White House insider and not a Russian operative or somebody else with less-than-honourable intent. The Times, then, actually appears to have done the Trump administration a favour by letting the president and everyone else know there are unelected people in his midst who are interfering with and subverting White House activities. In other words, there may be treason afoot in the White House . . .

Americans may now be asking: Who is really running the country? The “resistance”? Who is pulling their strings? How is anyone supposed to know? Are they planning to take over the White House?

There is obviously something much deeper going on here.

Or, superficially, there are some big-mouth wannabe secret agents in the White House.

So, what is it: Deeper conspiracy or dumb “resistance” agents?

I lean to the deeper conspiracy theory.

But who could possibly be orchestrating it?

Well, this is where it gets interesting.

Theory: Donald Trump is no fan of the New York Times. What a coup it would be for him if he and his loyal team members could feed them a fat yarn they would swallow hook, line and sinker.

Get it?

— Jillian