P. Stevenson for The Washington Post
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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Congress should change libel laws so that he would be better positioned to seek "retribution" against Bob Woodward, the author of the explosive new book that portrays a presidency careening toward a "nervous breakdown."
"Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?"
The president's tweet was part an aggressive effort by the White House to discredit Woodward's forthcoming book, "Fear," which paints a harrowing portrait of the Trump presidency, based on in-depth interviews with administration officials and others.
Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, has said he stands by his reporting.
During an appearance on Fox News shortly after Trump's tweet, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she hasn't "had the conversation" with Trump about any legal actions he might pursue against Woodward. Trump has frequently threatened legal action against others he says have wronged him without following through.
In January, Trump called for a change in libel laws - most of which are crafted at the state level - after the publication of "Fire & Fury," a tell-all book about the White House by Michael Wolff. At the time, Trump said libel laws are "a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness."
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., said Wednesday that he has no plans to alter libel laws and wasn't aware of Trump's tweet.
"No, is that something that's been suggested?" Ryan said when asked at a news conference whether he is interested in changing the law. Ryan said he had been "busy working" Wednesday morning.
Hours after The Washington Post first reported several key incidents from Woodward's book on Tuesday, the administration issued a vigorous string of public denials, with statements from top advisers - White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Sanders - as well as from Trump's former personal attorney John Dowd.
Mattis called the book "fiction," and Sanders denounced the tome in a statement as "nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees" without disputing any of the specifics that have been reported in excerpts.
Sanders appeared on several Wednesday morning television shows to reinforce that message.
"Everything I've seen so far out of this book doesn't depict what's going on in this building behind me," Sanders, appearing from the White House lawn, said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "You can't have the type of success that this president has had if what that book says is true . . . What I see coming out of this building is pure and total success. He's had the most successful two years of any president in modern history."
Sanders also cited the military service of Mattis and Kelly and called them "two American heroes" who consider the book "pure fiction."
"I would certainly rather take the word of those two individuals than a couple of disgruntled former employees who are anonymously attacking this president, trying to make him look bad," she said.
A central theme of the book is the stealthy machinations used by those in Trump's inner sanctum to try to control his impulses and prevent disasters, both for the president personally and for the nation he was elected to lead.
Woodward describes "an administrative coup d'etat" and a "nervous breakdown" of the executive branch, with senior aides conspiring to pluck official papers from the president's desk so he couldn't see or sign them.
Again and again, Woodward recounts at length how Trump's national security team was shaken by his lack of curiosity and knowledge about world affairs and his contempt for the mainstream perspectives of military and intelligence leaders.
Trump tweeted the denial statements Tuesday evening and then, without providing evidence, suggested the book's release was timed to affect the midterm elections in November.
In later tweets Wednesday, Trump sought to push back on the book's portrayal of his management style and on its reporting that his aides found him uninterested in many world affairs.
"I'm tough as hell on people & if I weren't, nothing would get done," Trump wrote. "Also, I question everybody & everything-which is why I got elected!
In other tweets, he called the book "total fiction" and "boring & untrue!"
Previously:
• /07/21/18: Trump takes yet another shot at NATO as he prepares to meet with alliance leaders
• /06/28/18: In Arizona, more Dems view Sens. McCain and Flake favorably than members of their own party
• /02/20/18: Romney had previously called President Trump 'a phony' and a 'fraud.' But that was before he announced his senate bid
• /01/31/18: Trump appeals for bipartisanship in repairing nation's infrastructure
• /12/07/17: Once a populist, Trump governs like a conservative Republican
• /11/20/17: Bannon's influence gets an early test
• /05/29/17: Amid escalating Russia crisis, Trump considers major staff changes
• /02/27/17: Trump faces a pivotal week ahead as he addresses jittery GOP lawmakers
• /10/20/16: Debates have revealed real weaknesses for Hillary that could nag at her in the campaign's final days and, if she wins, hamper her ability to pull the country together and govern effectively
• /10/05/16: Kaine's debate performance threatens to undercut his pick for Clinton veep: Image of authenticity
• /09/12/16: GOTCHA! Clinton memo revealed: Pressed about the 'deplorables' comment? Accuse the media of a double standard
• /07/04/16: Does Hillary Clinton really need Elizabeth Warren on the ticket?