The New York Times Document Leaks (The More Things Changed)

On July 10th and 11th, 2017, The New York Times reported that its servers had been hacked and several hundred documents had been stolen. At 9:06 AM on the 11th, Wikileaks announced that it had obtained copies of the documents and published them online.

Among the documents are communications between editors and journalists of the Times, as well as emails from the United States Department of Education and investment firm Goldman Sachs.

Publication
At 9:06 AM, July 11th, Wikileaks announced on Twitter that it had published the information. Founder Julian Assange said "We can say and we continue to say that Hillary Clinton has secrets to hide."

United States Department of Education
Among the documents leaked were communications between Gene Bruskin, Senior Advisor to the Education Secretary, and Serdar Kılıç, Turkish Ambassador to the United States. Further emails showed that Secretary of Education Randi Weingarten had sought contacts with the Turkish government and hid them from the public by neglecting to mention the contacts when New York Times journalist Anemona Hartocollis submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the information to the Education Department.

In developing and instituting the department's charter school regulations in May, emails suggest that schools run by the Gülen movement were targeted, in particular, to curry favor with the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Additionally, in one key email with Weingarten, Bruskin stated "I don't care what comes out of the courts on this. We're doing the right thing." This statement went unchallenged by Weingarten.

In one particular email, Weingarten expresses her dissatisfaction with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) despite her adamant public support of the bill both as Secretary and as President of the AFT.

The New York Times
In an email conversation between editor Ian Fisher and Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief Elisabeth Bumiller, the latter writes "We need to be certain and maximize our impact here," referring to a then-unpublished report by journalist Anemona Hartocollis about the communications between the Education Department and the Turkish government.

In the newspaper's editorial page, Bumiller stated "'It is painfully clear that I was referring to maximizing our journalistic standards, and not seeking to 'sit on this,' as described by Bill O'Reilly. The Times planned publication for Wednesday - which, despite the attack, remained our date of publication for the report.'"

Goldman Sachs
Communications and documents between Goldman Sachs staff showed the creation of Paxehaknik Management - a front corporation - in Wilmington, Delaware in 2014. The location of the business' incorporation, the Corporation Trust Center at 1209 N. Orange St., is sometimes referred to as "the biggest building in the world," as over 285,000 businesses claim the site as a corporate office.

In May of 2017, Goldman Sachs bought $2.7 billion worth of bonds from Petróleos de Venezuela, a state-owned petroleum company for only 4865 million in securities - a near-70% markdown from face value, with 19% annual interest. Financial documents and emails revealed that a further $900 million has been funneled directly to the Maduro government through Paxehaknik, at an even steeper 80% markdown, with 25% annual interest.

Both the original bond purchase and Paxehaknik revelations have elevated the "hunger bonds" movement by the Venezuelan opposition, aiming to shame foreign governments and corporations from supporting the Maduro regime.

The New York Times
In a press conference, Diane Brayton, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for The New York Times Company, stated "The New York Times takes attacks on the company, and, more broadly, the free press, with the highest level of seriousness. We are working with the FBI to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

Clinton Administration
Press Secretary Brian Fallon has characterized the attack as "an assault on the free press - the cornerstone of democracy and civil liberty in the United States." On the connection between Weingarten and the Turkish government, Fallon stated "This administration is taking the allegations very seriously. We will comment further when we can properly asses the situation."

President Clinton has since stated that she still has confidence in Weingarten's ability to due her job at the Education Department, but called on her to "be open with other cabinet departments, particularly the State Department. We want to be as transparent as humanly possible."

Department of Education
Michael S. Powell, Director of Communications and Outreach for the Department of Education, has called the leaks a "a distraction from the work we do every single day at the Education Department to protect every student in this country and give them every available tool to succeed."

On July 14th, three days after the initial leaks, Secretary of Education Randi Weingarten stated "There's nothing improper there. I'm focused on protecting our schools and protecting our students, not on The New York Times.

Donald Trump


At 12:52 PM on July 11th, shortly after the emails were published on Wikileaks, Trump Organization CEO and former Republican presidential nominee tweeted: "With all of its coverups to help crooked Hillary and Clown Randi, failing @nytimes is DISTORTING DEMOCRACY in our country!! See more at @TNN".

On the Trump News Network, commentator Bill O'Reily called the revelations "shameful" and "devastating" for Weingarten and the Clinton administration. He further called for Congressional investigations into the matter. About The New York Times, he claimed that the newspaper was "hiding" the information with intent to prevent damage to the Clinton administration, stating

"'You know they weren't gonna do it. They weren't going to publish this. You know the reason the New York Times was sitting on this. The media - the Fake News media - is colluding with Hillary Clinton.'"

Opposition
The revelation that the Maduro government had received an additional $900 million from Goldman Sachs at an even steeper cost to Venezuela elevated the "hunger bonds" movement from a single facet of the opposition to Maduro into one of the primary focuses of the resistance.