Jeff Bezos defied his own publisher by trashing The Washington Post's endorsement of Kamala Harris

Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos alone made the decision to block The Washington Postthe newspaper he owns from supporting a presidential candidate.

The Daily Beast has learned that even Will Lewis, Bezos' hand-picked publisher, fought Bezos “tooth and nail” to prevent him from suppressing the prepared editorial endorsing Kamala Harris for president.

This is a surprising turn of events, considering it was Lewis who announced the newspaper's decision.

The news organization's top opinion columnists hit out at Bezos on Friday night for blocking publication of the advisory at a time when Donald Trump's positions “directly threatened press freedom and the values ​​of the Constitution.”

“The Washington PostThe decision not to support the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents a departure from the fundamental editorial beliefs of the newspaper that we love and have worked for for a combined 218 years,” they wrote.

Bezos, who bought The Washington Post In 2013, he came from the famous Graham family and prevented his newspaper from explaining its position in what was probably the most consequential US election in living memory.

“Will Lewis fought it with all his might,” says a familiar source The postThe internal discussions told the beast. “He argued with Bezos.”

post Journalists were suspicious of Lewis when he was hired as publisher and CEO. He sparked an uproar over ethics with his alleged role in a hacking scandal at the British newspapers of Rupert Murdoch, for whom he previously worked in Britain

But he is said to have privately sided with journalists outraged by Bezos's eleventh-hour decision – literally eleven days before Election Day – to censor their free speech.

Famed Watergate scoop artists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reportedly issued a joint statement Friday evening saying Bezos' decision would be “ignored.” The Washington Post's own overwhelming reporting evidence about the threat Donald Trump poses to democracy.”

Won Pulitzer Prize post Journalist David Maraniss told the Daily Beast earlier Friday: “I find this despicable…This is not an act of benign neutrality, but of cowardice in the face of the greatest challenge to democracy in our post-World War II life.”

“Ben Bradlee, dead for 10 years, is deeply shaken in his grave,” Maraniss continued.

The eight columnists who issued a strong but measured joint statement condemning Bezos' actions are: EJ Dionne Jr.; David Ignatius; Ruth Marcus; Dana Milbank; Eugene Robinson; Jennifer Rubin; Karen Tumulty; and Perry Bacon Jr.

“This is a moment for the institution to make clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, as well as the threat that Donald Trump poses to it – the exact points.” The post “This is what you did by supporting Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020,” they wrote.

The shocking revelation that the billionaire owner of the nation's capital's historic newspaper banned a free and independent company from publishing its planned endorsement of Harris sparked a massive backlash. A wave of subscribers, including leading progressive activists, announced they were done.

The post Opinion columnists insisted in their joint statement that there was “no contradiction” between them The posts role as an independent newspaper and its long tradition of political support.

“This has never been truer than in the current election campaign,” they wrote. “An independent newspaper might one day decide to stop supporting the president. But this is not the time when a candidate is taking positions that directly threaten press freedom and the values ​​of the Constitution.”

Although he privately expressed support for his newsroom's journalists, Lewis wrote on Friday: “The Washington Post will not support any presidential candidate in this election. Not even in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of opposing presidential candidates.”