President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday evening to ask if New York Times journalists are going to “investigate themselves” over the op-ed written anonymously by one of his administration’s officials.

“Are the investigative “journalists” of the New York Times going to investigate themselves – who is the anonymous letter writer?” Trump wrote on Twitter, a few hours ahead of his rally in Billings, Montana.

Are the investigative “journalists” of the New York Times going to investigate themselves – who is the anonymous letter writer? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2018

The publication of the stunning op-ed — in which the author, identified only as a “senior Trump administration official, reassures that there is a resistance movement inside the White House working to thwart the president — has put the New York Times in a curious position.

There is a wall between the paper’s news and editorial sections. The news division was not told about the publication of the op-ed (even Times executive editor Dean Baquet was kept in the dark) and its reporters covering the White House have no idea who the anonymous official is.

“The news and opinion departments function independent of one another, and editorial page editor James Bennet confirmed to me that he did not inform executive editor Dean Baquet about the column in advance, in order to respect the firewall.” https://t.co/KOZnp16k0j — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 6, 2018

Will they find out before the White House? Weighing the expertise of the Times‘s reporters against the dysfunction of the Trump White House, it’s not unlikely.

(Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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