Bob Woodward: 'Very Senior' White House Official Warned Me I'd 'Regret' Attacking Obama Over the Sequester

Associate Editor of the Washington Post Bob Woodward. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Appearing on CNN Wednesday, the Washington Post's Bob Woodward said a "very senior person" at the White House warned him that he would "regret doing this," referring to his outspoken criticism of President Barack Obama's handling of the impending forced cuts known as the sequester.

"I think they're confused," Woodward told CNN host Wolf Blitzer. Woodward apparently went on to criticize Obama further over the sequester the same day he received the warning from the White House.

"It makes me very uncomfortable for the White House to be telling reporters, you are going to 'regret' doing something that you believe in," he added. "It's Mickey Mouse."

CNN invited a White House official to debate Woodward on-air, but the offer was declined, Business Insider's Brett LoGiurato reports. Video via Townhall:

TheBlaze's Becket Adams has more details on the feud between Woodward and the White House:

Bob Woodward on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of acting with a “kind of madness” in his handling of the automatic spending cuts set to take effect Friday.

[…]

He continued, turning his attention to the White House’s recent claim that spending cuts would prohibit it from deploying aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf.

“Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’” Woodward said.

“Or George W. Bush saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to invade Iraq because I can’t get the aircraft carriers I need’ or even Bill Clinton saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to attack Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters,’ as he did when Clinton was president because of some budget document?” he added.

Woodward initially started his fight with the White House after he accused the Obama administration of "moving the goal posts" in its budget negotiations with Republican lawmakers. He also reported in his book, "The Price of Politics," that the automatic spending cuts were actually Obama's idea -- and now he wants to avoid them at all costs.

(H/T: Business Insider)