Donald Trump Goes After Amazon Boss: Washington Post 'Is Owned as a Toy by Jeff Bezos'

Donald Trump has accused Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos of using the storied newspaper as a political tool, a charge that the Post’s executive editor has refuted.

The Washington Post “is owned as a toy by Jeff Bezos,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said during an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, which was posted online Friday. “Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. He’s using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed.”

Amazon — which Bezos founded and operates but is a separate entity from the newspaper that Bezos bought in 2013 — originally collected and paid sales taxes in only a few states, but today it collects and pays sales tax on shipments sent to the 29 states where it has any physical facilities.

Also Read: Amazon Launches YouTube Competitor Offering $1 Million Monthly Prize to Video Creators

The Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, responded in a statement by asserting that Bezos has never given him any editorial mandates.

“As the individual who oversees the Washington Post’s news staff, I can say categorically that I have received no instructions from Jeff Bezos regarding our coverage of the presidential campaign — or, for that matter, any other subject, ” he said. “The Post has a long tradition of publishing thorough examinations of the major party nominees for president.”

Trump was responding to comments by Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward, who rose to prominence for his role reporting the Nixon Watergate scandal, that the newspaper has 20 reporters assigned to investigate Trump’s life for a book announced earlier this week.

Also Read: Jeff Bezos' Hands-On Role Thrusts Washington Post Into Digital Power Player

Baron said the decision to write a book about Trump “came entirely from the newsroom.”

Representatives for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s message seeking comment.

In 2013, Bezos bought the Washington Post Co.’s newspaper publishing businesses for $250 million, including its flagship newspaper, after decades of family ownership.

10 'Game of Thrones' Characters Most and Least Likely to Die, According to Science (Photos)

So, did Jon Snow really die in "Game of Thrones" season finale? Did Sansa survive her leap from Winterfell's wall? Before Sunday's return of the series starts unraveling those mysteries, researchers at a German university say their algorithm knows the answers. A student team at the Technical University of Munich analyzed data on all the "Game of Thrones" characters and built a machine-learning program that gives each one a percentage chance of survival or doom. Who is the most and least likely to die next?
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This boy king is virtually dead already. Tommen Baratheon has a 97 percent likelihood of dying, according to the algorithm. Considering his grandfather, father, older brother and sister have all been murdered, and basically every person with any power in Westeros is vying to steal his seat on the Iron Throne, this doom may not be the biggest surprise.

Also Read: ‘Game of Thrones': Most Upsetting, Shocking and Disturbing Deaths So Far (Photos)
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Tommen's uncle, Stannis, is a close runner-up in the algorithm's ranking of who's next to die. He has a 96 percent chance of being offed. Of course, our last glimpse of Stannis was of him lying defenseless on the ground as Brienne of Tarth swung her sword at him for the kill, so...

Also Read: All 47 ‘Game of Thrones’ Main Characters, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)
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It doesn't look good for fan favorite Khaleesi. Daenerys Targaryen has a 95 percent of dying, putting her at No. 3 in the close race to the grave.
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Davos Seaworth, Stannis Baratheon's once right-hand deputy, has a 91 percent chance of doom. After barely surviving the battle at King's Landing in Season 2, this Onion Knight may not have long left.
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Petyr Baelish's cunning vaulted him to money and power, and it's saved him from more than one dire scrape. But he has a 91 percent likelihood of dying, according to the algorithm, so his wiles may not get him much farther.
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Among those most likely to survive, Roose Bolton is No. 5 on the "might just make it" list. And even though he makes it into that elusive top 5, he still has a 28 percent likelihood of dying.
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Margaery Tyrell's fate is rosier than her young husband, Tommen, at a 64 percent likelihood of dying. Her father, though, has the best chances in the Tyrell family, at only 18 percent doomed.
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Most people love to hate Cersei Lannister, but her conniving ways earn her a solid chance of surviving. She is only 16 percent likely to die, putting her at No. 3 on the list of survivors.
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Bless the all-knowing algorithm! Jon Snow is alive! At least, there's only an 11 percent chance that the Night's Watch mutiny that left him bleeding in the snow actually killed him. Only one other character has a better likelihood of survival.
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Place your bets now. Although she jumped from the heights of Winterfell's high wall in the finale of the last season, machine learning assures us Sansa is the most likely character of all to survive the "Song of Ice and Fire." She her likelihood of death is only 3 percent.
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Is Jon Snow dead or alive? A machine-learning algorithm pegs the percentage chance of every ”Game of Thrones“ character surviving or perishing

So, did Jon Snow really die in "Game of Thrones" season finale? Did Sansa survive her leap from Winterfell's wall? Before Sunday's return of the series starts unraveling those mysteries, researchers at a German university say their algorithm knows the answers. A student team at the Technical University of Munich analyzed data on all the "Game of Thrones" characters and built a machine-learning program that gives each one a percentage chance of survival or doom. Who is the most and least likely to die next?

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10 'Game of Thrones' Characters Most and Least Likely to Die, According to Science (Photos)

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