Some journalists on Twitter are siding with the White House. | REUTERS Media, others tweet on Woodward

Some members of the press and others took to Twitter to joke about Bob Woodward’s claims of being “threatened” by the White House, saying that the full text of the emails don’t back up the Washington Post reporter.

“I know you may not believe this, but as a friend, I think you will regret staking out that claim,” National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling wrote in the e-mail, referring to Woodward’s claim that President Barack Obama “moved the goal posts” on negotiations to avoid the sequester.


“You do not ever have to apologize to me,” Woodward responded. “You get wound up because you are making your points and you believe them.”

( VIDEO: Woodward at war: POLITICO's "Behind the Curtain")

Some journalists on Twitter are siding with the White House over one of the icons of their profession and say the full text of the e-mail calls into question Woodward’s claim that he had been threatened.

Prominent media writers at the New York Times and National Public Radio and a well-know conservative blogger were among those who shrugged off the supposedly threatening language.

Politico posts Sperling-Woodward emails. politi.co/VdnFwC Threat Level: Chartreuse — david carr (@carr2n) February 28, 2013

Woodward has ‘splaining to do. Email from Sperling seems to be making case, not threat - @ politico has the exchange politico.com/story/2013/02/… — David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) February 28, 2013 Ok wow. Finally read the email to Woodward. I must now move to the “not a threat” camp.— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) February 28, 2013

Other journalists had fun with the entire episode.

Apparently Bob Woodward didn’t know that today’s reporters have a different maxim: “Follow the emails” politicalwire.com/archives/2013/… — Taegan Goddard (@politicalwire) February 28, 2013

This will make a really horrible episode of “The Newsroom.” — daveweigel (@daveweigel) February 28, 2013

If you come at the king, you’ll regret staking that claim. — Will Dobson (@WilliamJDobson) February 28, 2013

Bob Woodward is moving the goalposts on what constitutes a threat. — Matt O’Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) February 28, 2013

I think in his remarks today President Obama is really going to slam Speaker Woodward’s sequester cuts. — jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) February 28, 2013 If the WH was threatening to cut off Woodward, he could always regain access for only $500,000.— Timothy P Carney (@TPCarney) February 28, 2013

Others hoped the e-mail exchange could reveal something about how Washington operates.

That Woodward-Sperling email exchange isn’t threatening. It’s incestuous! — Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) February 28, 2013

Fine to shrug the Woodward thing off if it means new and welcome skepticism about the faux outrage of left-liberal journalists. — John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) February 28, 2013 Vintage Woodward: Cherry-pick a friendly exchange, make it sinister & vault himself into the media. Did it with Rummy in State of Denial.— Keith Urbahn (@keithurbahn) February 28, 2013

But Woodward does still have his backers.

Bob Woodward still rules when taking on the #WhiteHouse. Bob, you rock! thebea.st/XkhR2Q — Tina Brown (@TheTinaBeast) February 28, 2013

Steve Benen, a liberal blogger for MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” said Woodward’s claim would hurt his legacy.

“When it comes to his chosen profession, Bob Woodward has had the kind of career most media professionals can only dream of,” Benen wrote. “… Which is why it saddens me to see him become so reckless for no reason. I just can’t figure out what’s gotten into Woodward, or why he’s acting so erratically. But at this point, it seems Woodward is doing lasting, possibly irreparable harm to his once-sterling reputation, and that is a genuine shame.”

Josh Marshall of the liberal Talking Points Memo suggested it would make him trust Woodward’s reporting less in the future.

Does fact that BW portrayed that email as threat make anyone wonder abt any of those highly novelistic Woodward fly on wall vignettes?— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 28, 2013