President Donald Trump on Wednesday took direct aim at The New York Times, calling the news organization a "true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE."
In a series of Twitter posts Wednesday, Trump wrote that "The Press has never been more dishonest than it is today." He added: "Stories are written that have absolutely no basis in fact. The writers don't even call asking for verification. They are totally out of control." He went on to write that "The New York Times reporting is false."
While the president did not cite a specific article, his remarks came a day after The Times published an investigative report describing how Trump had worked to influence and undermine federal investigations involving him, his presidential campaign and his administration. The Times on Wednesday defended the article as "rigorously reported," based on a review of confidential White House documents and dozens of interviews.
One allegation highlighted in the report was that Trump called then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker shortly after he assumed his post late last year to ask whether Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a perceived loyalist, could be put in charge of an investigation that included Trump's role in silencing two women who alleged past affairs with him.
Whitaker knew he could not put Berman in charge because Berman had already recused himself from the investigation, The Times reported, citing several officials with direct knowledge of the call between Trump and Whitaker.
After Whitaker's refusal, Trump soured on Whitaker, according to the report.
Trump was asked Tuesday, after the story published online, about his reported inquiry to Whitaker.
"No, I don't know who gave you that, that's more fake news," Trump told reporters at the White House. "There's a lot of fake news out there. No I didn't."
Trump went on to say he has "a lot of respect for Mr. Whitaker," calling him a "very, very straight shooter" and praising his combative performance this month in a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee.
Trump's use of the phrase "enemy of the people" -- which he has frequently deployed against a group of mainstream news outlets, but rarely against The Times individually -- also carried unusual weight because of a series of recent conversations between himself and A.G. Sulzberger, The Times' publisher.
On two occasions, including an Oval Office interview last month, Sulzberger urged Trump in person to abandon his use of that term. The publisher has cited growing evidence that autocrats and other world leaders are emboldened by Trump's anti-press rhetoric to crack down, sometimes violently, on independent journalists in their own countries.
In the interview, Trump responded by saying "I want to be" a defender of the press. But he went on to complain about what he perceives as unfairly critical coverage of him and his administration.
Sulzberger, in a statement Wednesday, again called on Trump to heed the words of past presidents who, spanning historical eras and parties, embraced the importance of a free press.
"In demonizing the free press as the enemy, simply for performing its role of asking difficult questions and bringing uncomfortable information to light, President Trump is retreating from a distinctly American principle," Sulzberger said. "It's a principle that previous occupants of the Oval Office fiercely defended regardless of their politics, party affiliation or complaints about how they were covered."
The publisher added, "As I have repeatedly told President Trump face to face, there are mounting signs that this incendiary rhetoric is encouraging threats and violence against journalists at home and abroad."
In another tweet Wednesday, Trump weighed in on a new libel lawsuit against The Washington Post, siding with the plaintiffs -- the family of Nick Sandmann, a Covington Catholic High School student from Kentucky who was involved in an encounter in Washington last month with an American Indian man that went viral on social media.
According to the lawsuit, The Post "bullied" Sandmann because he was a "white, Catholic student wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' souvenir cap."
"Go get them Nick. Fake News!" Trump wrote.
A Post spokesman said the paper was reviewing the lawsuit "and we plan to mount a vigorous defense."
Information for this article was contributed by Michael Grynbaum and Eileen Sullivan of The New York Times and by John Wagner of The Washington Post.
A Section on 02/21/2019