Getty ImagesAlan: If the tables were turned, Trump would do the same - and up the ante.
Trump attacks Bezos after disclosure 20 reporters looking into candidate’s past
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump attacked Jeff Bezos over antitrust and taxes after the disclosure that 20 reporters from the Bezos-owned Washington Post are examining the candidate.
Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that Bezos is wielding power he has from owning the influential newspaper.
"He’s using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed,” Trump said.
"He’s using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed,” Trump said.
“He has a huge antitrust problem because Amazon is controlling so much.”
The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward on Wednesday said at a conference they had 20 reporters devoted to Trump and were planning to write a book on the self-professed billionaire.
The collection of local and state tax has long been a sensitive issue for AmazonAMZN, -1.22% . The company now collects taxes for 28 states, representing 84% of the country’s population.
A group of authors has asked the Justice Department to examine Amazon on antitrust grounds.
Amazon.com’s political-action committee this cycle has evenly divided its donationsbetween Democrats and Republicans, according to OpenSecrets. Amazon has employed lobbyists on tax and antitrust issues in front of Congress, according to the Sunlight Foundation.
Bezos personally has seldom made political donations. His last one was to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Utah Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee. In 2009, Bezos and his wife donated to Sen. Patty Murray, the Washington Democrat.
In a statement, Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron said Bezos has not directed news coverage about Trump.
“As the individual who oversees The Washington Post’s news staff, I can say categorically that I have received no instructions from Jeff Bezos regarding our coverage of the presidential campaign — or, for that matter, any other subject. The Post has a long tradition of publishing thorough examinations of the major party nominees for president,” he said. The decision to publish a book on Trump came from the newsroom, he added.
Bezos didn’t return a message seeking comment.
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