A longtime deputy editor at the Washington Post has criticized an editorial accusing both President Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, of “abusing their pardon power” and “setting a dangerous precedent.” criticized the newspaper company.
David Maraniss, who has worked at The Washington Post for nearly 50 years, lamented on social media Wednesday the fact that his employer has “completely lost its soul.”
“It is unconscionable that this morning’s Washington Post editorial essentially equated Biden’s questionable pardon with Trump’s outrageous Jan. 6 pardon,” Maraniss said. Written on Bluesky microblogging platform on wednesday.
“The newspaper I've been a part of for 48 years has completely lost its soul.”
Maraniss wrote biographies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. mentioned in the editorial The title is “Biden and Trump's pardons ignore the rule of law.”
“President Joe Biden started the problem by granting preemptive pardons to five family members and former members of his administration,” the paper's editorial board wrote.
“His imprudent actions open the door for future presidents to similarly immunize their families and staff from mere theoretical prosecution by their successors. as if they were to be regarded as unavoidable enemies.”
In the next paragraph, the editorial criticizes President Trump for pardoning those convicted of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“His reckless giving risks emboldening militias and others to commit future acts of barbarity in support of political objectives. When such violence is tolerated, Violence ensues,” the editorial reads.
The New York Post has contacted the Washington Post for comment.
maranis thursday told Status Newsletter “I'm disappointed to see what's going on in this era of leadership,” he said, referring to owner Jeff Bezos.
Amazon founder Bezos has so far received newsroom visits from more than 400 of the paper's employees following a talent exodus sparked by then-Vice President Kamala Harris' decision to sharply expand his support. The request is ignored.
Most of the paper's left-wing readers were outraged by the move, with 250,000 subscribers reportedly canceling their memberships.
“People are in complete despair,” a Washington Post official told Status. The newsletter said Washington Post employees found them “confused as to why Mr. Bezos is so insistent on maintaining ownership of the newspaper.”
Oliver Darcy said, “At one time he seemed proud to own it, and perhaps in his first term he may have enjoyed having that outlet serve as a bulwark against Trump, but… That doesn't seem to be the case now,” he wrote in Status magazine.
The Post has reached out to Bezos for comment.
In recent weeks, the Washington Post has parted ways with several prominent reporters and editors who have moved on to other outlets.
Phillip Rucker, a highly regarded national editor, left CNN, and longtime opinion columnist and Trump basher Jennifer Rubin left to join Substack.
The newspaper's cartoonist, Ann Ternas, resigned after the newspaper refused to run her cartoons that mocked Bezos and other tech titans as too submissive to Trump.
Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, two national political reporters, have left for The Atlantic, and investigative political reporter Josh Dorsey has left to join the Wall Street Journal.
Morale at the Post has been further damaged by recent layoffs of business-side staff.
Newspaper executives also passed the law, telling staff they could hand in their resignations if they refused to return to the office five days a week.
