Washington Post staff furious as Jeff Bezos stays – Business News
Washington Post staffers are reportedly mad on the newspaper’s billionaire proprietor Jeff Bezos for protecting mum on the FBI raid that focused one of their colleagues, with one journo calling the Amazon mogul’s silence “nauseating and irresponsible.”
He’s but to publicly converse out since federal brokers raided a WaPo reporter’s home in reference to a probe of a authorities contractor who allegedly retained categorised supplies illegally. The feds seized two laptops, a cellphone and a smartwatch from Hannah Natanson, who covers the federal authorities.
One staffer informed the Status e-newsletter it was “nauseating and irresponsible to have our owner remain silent given this unprecedented event.”
Jeff Bezos, the billionaire Amazon founder and proprietor of the Washington Post, has not mentioned something publicly about an FBI raid on the home of one of the newspaper’s reporters. AP
Another mentioned they had been “disappointed” however “not surprised” by the dearth of public assist from Bezos.
A 3rd informed Status: “If there is a moment to stand up for our journalistic values, this would be it.”
Statements up to now from the paper’s management haven’t been vigorous enough, disgruntled staffers mentioned.
Executive Editor Matt Murray circulated an inside memo, writing: “This extraordinary, aggressive action is deeply concerning and raises profound questions and concern around the constitutional protections for our work.”
“The Washington Post has a long history of zealous support for robust press freedoms. The entire institution stands by those freedoms and our work.”
Some 12 hours after the raid, the paper’s editorial board printed a assertion condemning the search as “an aggressive attack on the press freedom of all journalists.”
FBI brokers on Wednesday seized laptops and a mobile phone from Natanson’s home. Facebook / Hannah Natanson
Publisher and CEO Will Lewis later issued a assertion praising Natanson as one of the newspaper’s “finest reporters” and calling the search warrant “outrageous.”
Murray additionally met privately with Natanson for about half-hour, in response to Status.
Still, a WaPo insider informed Status: “There’s some growing frustration that there hasn’t been a robust public response from current leadership.”
Washington Post staffers had been reportedly outraged over the raid on Natanson’s home. Facebook / Hannah Natanson
The FBI’s investigation facilities on a contractor named Aurelio Perez-Lugones, who was arrested final week and charged with illegal retention of categorised national protection data below the Espionage Act.
“The search [of Natanson’s home] was consistent with the law,” a Justice Department spokesperson informed The Post on Thursday.
Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned the search of Natanson’s home was performed on the request of the Department of War and that the reporter had been “obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor.”
Natanson will not be a goal of the investigation, in response to the Trump administration.
“Leaking classified information puts America’s national security and the safety of our military heroes in serious jeopardy,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned in a post on X. “President Trump has zero tolerance for it and will continue to aggressively crack down on these illegal acts moving forward.”
Matt Murray, the newspaper’s govt editor, circulated an inside memo condemning the FBI raid. The Washington Post by way of Getty Images
Bezos took a largely hands-off method within the years after shopping for the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. But since Trump’s reelection in 2024, Bezos has personally intervened in editorial choices.
In October of that yr, he ordered the paper to desert its long-standing apply of presidential endorsements, killing a ready endorsement of then-Vice President Kamala Harris simply days earlier than the election — a transfer that shocked the newsroom and triggered resignations, protests by staff and a wave of subscription cancellations.
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Last yr, Bezos imposed a new ideological mandate on the opinion part, saying it ought to concentrate on “personal liberties and free markets.”
His management group put in right-leaning journalist Adam O’Neal as opinion web page editor, triggering a additional spherical of exits.
The Post has sought remark from Perez-Lugones. A Washington Post spokesperson was not instantly out there for remark.
