"If the GOP establishment were going to torpedo Trump it would have made more sense months ago." But this political season has not been marked by much sense, on either side. Besides, events sometimes slide out of control, and get ahead of you, forcing you to desperate measures way down the road.

Journalists, even show biz groupies, don't like to get a reputation for back-stabbing their informants and betraying their confidential "off the record" and "deep background" sources. It leads to nobody wanting to trust you any more. It is certainly possible the damning tapes were deliberately leaked by someone with an axe to grind, or by some mercenary staffer, but I don't think it can be ruled out that the orders came all the way from the top, for the "best" of reasons. It sure smells like an inside job to me.

You're right, this does have all the earmarks of a classic Clinton covert op, and that may indeed be the case. But it is fun to speculate, isn't it?