Who wrote the anonymous New York Times op-ed about Donald Trump's administration?
Washington is now engaged in a frenzied guessing game - one that is dominating every conversation in this town and that is pushing the White House towards a collective nervous breakdown.
Who wrote the devastating and politically-explosive New York Times article? It was an anonymous piece of writing that was either courageous and patriotic, or cowardly and petty, depending on your point of view.
Trump tweeted a single incendiary word to describe the action of the author: Treason.
All we know about the writer is that he or she is described by the New York Times as a “senior Administration official”. The speculation overnight was rampant. Some suggested it was a national security official - perhaps Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence - because it focused on foreign policy. Others analysed the language of the article and spotted that it included a rarely used word, “lodestar.” Yes, exceptionally unusual, but the word is occasionally used in speeches by the Vice President, Mike Pence. Could he be the author?
The question isn’t just the identity of the author, but also just how damaging the article is. It certainly suggests that there is a “Deep State” that is trying to thwart the president. It will add rocket fuel to conspiracy theories.
The president is said to be furious and is demanding that the author is found and exposed. In some ways, that is understandable. Trump faces an administrative coup in which his orders are ignored, documents are seized from his desk, and his advisers are abandoning him.
And - take a deep breath - we are nowhere near the point of maximum stress. That will comes in the days surrounding the publication of the Mueller report into Russian collusion.
One thing we can all agree on amid the chaos and recriminations: when Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly called the White House “crazytown”, it was no exaggeration.