The New York Times came out swinging Friday against President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE’s call for the Department of Justice to investigate the identity of the anonymous senior administration official who published a blistering op-ed critical of the president in the paper.

"We're confident that the Department of Justice understands that the First Amendment protects all American citizens and that it would not participate in such a blatant abuse of government power," The New York Times said in a statement.

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"The president's threats both underscore why we must safeguard the identity of the writer of this Op-Ed and serve as a reminder of the importance of a free and independent press to American democracy,” it added.

The Times released the statement after Trump said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE should investigate who wrote the op-ed.

“We’re going to take a look at what he had, what he gave, what he’s talking about also where he is right now,” Trump told reporters Friday on Air Force One.

Washington has buzzed with speculation about the author’s identity since the op-ed was published Wednesday.

A cascade of statements were released by administration officials who denied they were the writer of the op-ed that called Trump amoral and “anti-Democratic” and detailed efforts by officials to thwart his “misguided impulses.”

“The root of the problem is the president’s amorality. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making,” the official wrote. “Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.”

Response to the op-ed was fast and furious, with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling on the anonymous “coward” to resign and Trump labeling the official as “gutless” and suggesting the op-ed was an act of treason.

“You look at this horrible thing that took place, is it subversion, is it treason?" Trump asked during a campaign-style rally Thursday in Montana.