Journalist says W House told him he would regret criticism

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Journalist Bob Woodward on Wednesday said a senior White House official told him he would “regret” taking issue in recent days with President Barack Obama’s version of how across-the-board budget cuts came to be.

Woodward, who challenged the White House account in an article on Sunday, said a “very senior” White House official sent him an email in which, “It was said very clearly, ‘You will regret doing this.’”

Woodward made the comment in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. He declined to name the official.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, Woodward criticised Barack Obama’s handling of the cuts set to take effect this week, calling the president’s decision to hold back on military deployments “madness.”

His comments continued what has become a running dispute between Woodward, perhaps the country’s best-known print journalist, and the Democratic White House about who is responsible for the across-the-board cuts scheduled to begin on Friday.