I wanted Platner to be the guy because I do think in this moment, he would have won.

But I know first hand how traditional newspaper legal sourcing and corroboration works (yes, for all they are hateable for other reasons, that includes the NYT). Once you know how careful they are with sources, because the potential exists for even a single defamation lawsuit to utterly bankrupt the company, then you know the details in that article are both credible and passing those checks would not have been fakeable without an incredibly elaborate conspiracy.

That doesn’t mean the allegations are true, but I believe it’s likely they are true.