A columnist took Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, to task on Wednesday for remaining silent on a big scandal involving President Donald Trump.
The FBI announced on Wednesday that it had raided the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, seizing all of her devices as part of the process. The raid was allegedly tied to a national security leak.
Jonathan Chait, a staff writer for The Atlantic, argued in a new column that journalists are generally protected under the First Amendment in cases like this. However, the raid by Trump's FBI "may portend something more ominous" that requires Bezos' response, Chait argued.
"The question that has hung over the Post since Bezos’s heel turn has been whether he is still willing to protect the paper from a president who yearns to subdue it," Chait wrote. "He could answer the question by speaking out forcefully in defense of his journalists and their right to report on the government without intimidation. Or he could continue to remain silent, which, in its own way, is also an answer."
Chait noted that Trump has consistently railed against papers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which have run stories critical of his administration, and argued they are operating illegally.
Chait also pointed out that Bezos has sent Trump a series of "compliant signals," such as rearranging the Post's editorial board and spiking the paper's presidential endorsement ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump may also have a point of leverage over Bezos in the matter, Chait argued. Both Amazon and Blue Origin rely on government contracts for revenue, which could be jeopardized if Bezos is too critical of Trump.