Washington Post hits back at Trump’s ‘repugnant’ tweet

The Washington Post hit back at President Trump on Thursday over his tweet criticizing the newspaper and three of its reporters by name for a story published the previous day about Attorney General William Barr.

“The Amazon Washington Post and three lowlife reporters, Matt Zapotosky, Josh Dawsey, and Carol Leonnig, wrote another Fake News story, without any sources (pure fiction), about Bill Barr & myself. We both deny this story, which they knew before they wrote it. A garbage newspaper!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning.

Executive Editor Marty Baron responded by saying the Post fully stands by the story and its reporters.

“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,” Baron said in a statement tweeted by the Post’s communications manager.

Re: today’s tweets from @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/ndHxZoorzk

— Kristine Coratti Kelly (@kriscoratti) November 7, 2019 

The Post’s story was later confirmed by The New York Times and ABC News.

Trump had lashed out at a Post story Wednesday that said the president asked Barr to hold a news conference to say he did not break any laws on his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky is at the center of the House impeachment inquiry.{mosads}

Trump denied that he asked Barr to hold such a conference, and characterized the report as a “Fake News story.”