Mega billionaire Jeff Bezos alone made the decision to block The Washington Postthe newspaper he owns from supporting a presidential candidate.

The Daily Beast has learned that even Will Lewis, Bezos' hand-picked publisher, fought Bezos “tooth and nail” for suppressing the prepared editorial endorsing Kamala Harris for president.

The paper's top opinion columnists hit out at Bezos on Friday evening for blocking publication of their article at a time when Donald Trump's positions “directly threaten press freedom and the values ​​of the Constitution.”

“The Washington PostThe decision not to support the presidential campaign is a terrible mistake. It represents a departure from the fundamental editorial beliefs of the newspaper that we love and have worked for for a combined 218 years,” they wrote.

Bezos, who bought The Washington Post from the famous Graham family in 2013, censored his newspaper from taking a position on what was arguably the most consequential US election for any voter alive today.

“Will Lewis fought this with all his might,” said a source familiar with the matter postThe internal discussions told the beast. “He argued with Bezos.”

This is a surprising turn of events given the uproar that Lewis caused when he was first hired as publisher and CEO, due to ethics issues and his alleged role in a hacking scandal at the British tabloid he previously worked for in the UK had worked

But he apparently sided with the journalists in the newsroom who were outraged by Bezos's eleventh-hour decision – literally 11 days before Election Day – to censor their free speech.

Legendary Pulitzer Prize winner post Journalist David Maraniss told the Daily Beast earlier Friday: “I find this despicable…This is not an act of benign neutrality, but of cowardice in the face of the greatest challenge to democracy in our post-World War II life.”

“Ben Bradlee, who has been dead for ten years, is deeply shaken in his grave,” Maraniss continued.

The eight columnists who issued a strong but measured joint statement condemning Bezos' actions are: EJ Dionne Jr.; David Ignatius; Ruth Marcus; Dana Milbank; Eugene Robinson; Jennifer Rubin; Karen Tumulty and Perry Bacon Jr.

“This is a moment for the institution to make clear its commitment to democratic values, the rule of law and international alliances, as well as the threat that Donald Trump poses to it – the exact points.” The post “This is what you did by supporting Trump’s opponents in 2016 and 2020,” they wrote.

The columnists insisted there was “no contradiction” between them The posts role as an independent newspaper and its long tradition of political support.

“This has never been truer than in the current election campaign,” they wrote. “An independent newspaper might one day decide to stop supporting the president. But this is not the time when a candidate is taking positions that directly threaten press freedom and the values ​​of the Constitution.”

However, Lewis wrote on Friday: “The Washington Post will not support any presidential candidate in this election. Not even in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of opposing presidential candidates.”