Reporter Threatened by White House
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward is saying that the White House threatened him after he published an article saying the Obama administration “moved the goal posts” in the pending budget sequester.
Woodward’s article was published last weekend, and detailed who exactly was to blame for sequestration (he states the idea originated in the White House). In addition, he claimed that Obama attempted to “move the goal posts” by asking for new revenue through taxes as a substitute to the $85 billion budget cuts.
That claim warranted an email from a high-ranking White House official – Obama’s top economic advisor, Gene Sperling — telling Woodward to retract the claim and not publish the article.
“…I do truly believe you should rethink your comment about saying that Potus asking for revenues is moving the goal post,” Woodward claimed Sperling wrote in an e-mail. “I know you may not believe this, but as a friend, I think you will regret staking out that claim.”
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Woodward said the threat is an example of the Obama administration’s concerning communication strategy.
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