Warren Says Bloomberg Should Divest From His Company’s News Division

(Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren called on fellow Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg to divest from the news division of his company “so there’s no question about his influence” over its coverage of 2020 candidates.“If Michael Bloomberg wants to be the Democratic nominee, he should let reporters do their jobs and report on him, and everyone else, as they see fit,” Warren said in a series of tweets on Wednesday.Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. He has said he’ll put his company in a trust or sell it if he wins the election.A spokesperson for Bloomberg News had no comment on Warren’s tweets.Warren referred to a policy that Bloomberg Editor in Chief John Micklethwait set out when Michael Bloomberg announced his candidacy. It said Bloomberg News would cover the Democratic candidates, including Bloomberg. It would continue the longstanding practice of not investigating Bloomberg or his family and foundation, and extend the same policy to his Democratic rivals. The news organization’s investigative team would continue to investigate the Trump administration as the government of the day.The Massachusetts senator said the policy “puts reporters in an impossible situation and undermines a free press” and that Bloomberg should change the policy and divest.Warren’s tweets referred to a Federal Election Commission complaint filed by Mark Green, who once ran against Bloomberg for New York mayor. Green’s complaint said the news agency’s coverage of the 2020 presidential campaign amounted to a contribution to Bloomberg’s presidential race.Bloomberg’s campaign did not respond immediately to a request for comment.To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Columbus at mniquette@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Craig GordonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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