Christie accuses Bannon of being Woodward’s co-author

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is accusing former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon of being a “co-author” of the tell-all White House book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward. 

“Unfortunately, it appears Bob Woodward has used perpetual leaker Steve Bannon as a co-author for his book,” Christie tweeted, referencing Woodward’s “Fear: Trump in the White House,” which hit shelves on Tuesday.

{mosads}”His non-stop, self-centered leaking is why Steve was fired from the White House in the first place,” Christie added.

Christie in a subsequent tweet accused Woodward of “being a stenographer for Mr. Bannon’s self-aggrandizing revisionist history” and claimed Woodward had not contacted him for a fact check. 

“Unfortunately, it appears Bob Woodward has used perpetual leaker Steve Bannon as a co-author for his book. His non-stop, self-centered leaking is why Steve was fired from the White House in the first place.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) September 11, 2018

If Mr. Woodward would have performed rudimentary journalistic fact checking with those he was quoting, he would have had a more accurate book rather than just being a stenographer for Mr. Bannon’s self-aggrandizing revisionist history.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) September 11, 2018

To be clear, a number of the statements attributed to me and from others to me in the Woodward book are incorrect. I would have been happy to correct them if Mr. Woodward or any member of his staff would have called me, as a person they were quoting, for standard fact checking.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) September 11, 2018

Woodward in the book reports that Trump once accused Christie of “stealing” from him when the former New Jersey governor was working for his 2016 presidential campaign.  

“Where the f— is the money?” Trump reportedly asked Christie, referring to funds the transition team was using, according to Woodward. “I need money for my campaign. I’m putting money in my campaign and you’re f—ing stealing from me.”

Christie denied the quotes attributed to him. 

Woodward in a media tour this week has stated multiple times that he “stands by his reporting.” The Washington Post reported last week that “Fear: Trump in the White House” is based on hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand sources, meeting notes, personal diaries, files and documents.

Woodward’s former reporting partner Carl Bernstein has said Woodward’s reporting is airtight and can be substantiated by “hundreds” of audio tapes. 

Woodward’s book has faced a flurry of denials from officials quoted in explosive anecdotes throughout. The White House claims the book is fiction. 

Bannon’s relationship with the White House has been tense since he resigned as chief strategist last August. He sparked outrage from the president earlier this year after criticizing Trump on the record for journalist Michael Wolff’s previous White House exposé “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”