Martin Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post, said that President Donald Trump’s latest attack on the publication was a “repugnant attempt to intimidate and harass” its staff.
His comment was in response to a series of tweets that Trump posted on Thursday, attacking The Post over a report that he asked Attorney General William Barr to hold a news conference to say that he broke no laws in his July 25 call with the president of Ukraine, but Barr declined to do so.
In three tweets, Trump attacked the Post as “degenerate” and accused the publication of making it up. He also called out its reporters specifically, calling them “lowlife reporters.”
In a statement released through a spokeswoman, Baron said that the Post “fully stands behind its story and its reporters, who are among the finest journalists anywhere. The president continues to make false accusations against news organizations and individual journalists. Despite his repugnant attempt to intimidate and harass the Post and its staff, we will continue to do the work that democracy demands of a free and independent press.”
Other outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and ABC News, posted their own stories with their own confirmation from unnamed sources that Trump had asked Barr to hold the news conference.