BRIAN STELTER (HOST): Tim, you're a frequent critic of The New York Times. Do you see something in this story that feels wrong, that feels off base?
TIM GRAHAM: Well once again we have all kinds of anonymous sources. This story, to just call it plain reporting is wrong.
STELTER: What do you mean by anonymous sources? They published the documents from 1995 in the newspaper.
GRAHAM: They have the anonymous tax expert there on the front page of the paper today saying he benefited from his vast destruction like he was Hurricane Donald. This paper has all the restraint of a pack of a flesh-eating zombies. The idea that anyone would take them seriously, when they've announced on the front page that their job is to take him down, when they've done repeated editorials about how he needs to be defeated. Today it's all about how the Laitnos need to come --
STELTER: The editorial page is separate from the newsroom though. Having worked there in the past, the editorial page is produced way upstairs, the newsroom is downstairs. There are differences between them. John, do you want to chime in?
JOHN AVLON: Yeah, please, look. Let's just have a simple reality check here. First of all, I mean I understand the discomfort of many conservatives because so many historically conservative and Republican papers have for the first time in their history declined to endorse the Republican nominee. But this story is sourced not only with documents, and that's not incidental, it's core, but also ended up through good reporting reaching out to the accountant who filed them, who added both verification and explication. The Trump campaign is notably not denied them, simply threatened lawsuits. So every characterization -- that's pure partisan spin and has no credibility, unfortunately.
GRAHAM: The New York Times is pure partisan spin and the story admits itself that the evidence here is fragmentary. And it's clearly -- you're talking about Trump being intimidating. This newspaper is trying to intimidate Trump into releasing his tax returns. That's what they're up to. They're out to get him defeated and everybody knows it.
