Trump revokes Washington Post's press credentials
The presidential candidate shuts out the capital's major paper, which just happens to be owned by Jeff Bezos, a frequent target for Trump criticism.
Donald Trump's feud with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has apparently reached its boiling point.
The presumptive Republican nominee for president said in a tweet Monday that his campaign has revoked the press credentials of The Washington Post due to what he called "incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting."
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the move but indicated in a press release that it was related to a story the Post published earlier Monday under the headline: "Donald Trump Suggests President Obama Was Involved With Orlando Shooting."
"We no longer feel compelled to work with a publication which has put its need for 'clicks' above journalistic integrity," the statement read. "They have no journalistic integrity and write falsely about Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not mind a bad story, but it has to be honest."
The statement went on to reiterate earlier claims that Bezos -- the owner of the Post -- bought the newspaper as political tool and tax
The Post criticized the move as detrimental to freedom of the press.
"Donald Trump's decision to revoke The Washington Post's press credentials is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press," Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said in a statement. "When coverage doesn't correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished. The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along -- honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly. We're proud of our coverage, and we're going to keep at it."
With its banishment, the Post -- long the newspaper of record in the US capital -- joins a growing list of media outlets and journalists who are banned from direct access to the candidate. Reporters for CNN, Fusion, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post and Politico have also been shut out by the campaign.
The move is the latest in a months-long feud between Trump and Bezos, who bought the Post for $250 million in 2013. Trump's feud with the Post, Bezos and Amazon seemed to have come out of nowhere in December when the Republican candidate began tweeting fire at all three, claiming that Bezos' purchase of The Post was meant to use the struggling paper as a way of lowering Amazon's tax bill.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Updated at 4:05 p.m. PT with a statement from The Washington Post. Updated at 5:30 p.m. PT with statement from Trump campaign.