Bloomberg News Will Not Investigate Owner, Democratic Rivals: Editor

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at an event on his last day in office, New York City, Dec. 31, 2013. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times

Bloomberg News, founded by Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg, said it will not investigate the former New York City mayor or any of his Democratic rivals.

“We will continue our tradition of not investigating Mike (and his family and foundation) and we will extend the same policy to his rivals in the Democratic primaries. We cannot treat Mike’s democratic competitors differently from him,” wrote Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on Sunday.

President Donald Trump will remain the subject of its investigative reporting, he said.

“For the moment, our P&I team will continue to investigate the Trump administration, as the government of the day,” Micklethwait said. “If Mike is chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate (and Donald Trump emerges as the Republican one), we will reassess how we do that.”

Bloomberg will aggregate or publish other media outlets’ work on him or his competitors if they are “credible journalistic institutions,” Micklethwait said, without elaborating.

“We have already assigned a reporter to follow [Bloomberg’s] campaign (just as we did when Mike was in City Hall),” Micklethwait said. “And in the stories we write on the presidential contest, we will make clear that our owner is now a candidate.”

Bloomberg News also said it will suspend its opinion section’s editorial board, which is where Bloomberg had the most direct contact.

The former New York City mayor who is worth billions announced his bid for the presidency on Sunday.

“I’m running for president to defeat Donald Trump and rebuild America …  We must win this election. And we must begin rebuilding America. I believe my unique set of experiences in business, government, and philanthropy will enable me to win and lead,” he said in a statement.

“As a child and a Boy Scout, I was taught to believe in the promise and potential of America, and I have never been more worried about its future than I am today. America is at its best when we work together to find meaningful and lasting solutions to the big challenges that we face. We need a president who understands that truth—and who can do it, rather than just make promises.”

Polls have shown that Bloomberg has his work cut out for him as Democrat voters haven’t so far resonated with him.

A poll from Morning Consult revealed that only 4 percent of 2,225 registered Democratic voters would pick him as their first choice to take on Trump in 2020.

Amid reports Bloomberg, 77, would run for president, Trump said that Bloomberg will “spend a lot of money” but will ultimately fail.

“It’s Michael Bloomberg coming in, saying, ‘I don’t think any of you can beat Donald Trump,'” Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, said on Sunday, referring to the other Democratic candidates.

According to Forbes magazine, Bloomberg is by far the most wealthy presidential candidate with an estimated $53 billion. It noted in a recent report that he’s about 17 times richer than Trump, who, according to the publication, is worth around $3 billion.