If the report is accessed via HTTP, I wouldn't be surprised if the clocks on the government server are off by a few ms, so all the HFTs that are pounding the UR

If the report is accessed via HTTP, I wouldn't be surprised if the clocks on the government server are off by a few ms, so all the HFTs that are pounding the URL are trying to get access to the data. The first one who got it made their trades before everyone else.