Some members of the press and others took to Twitter to joke about Bob Woodward's claims of being "threatened" by the White House, saying that the full text of the emails don't back up the Washington Post reporter.
"I know you may not believe this, but as a friend, I think you will regret staking out that claim," National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling wrote in the e-mail, referring to Woodward's claim that President Barack Obama "moved the goal posts" on negotiations to avoid the sequester.
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"You do not ever have to apologize to me," Woodward responded. "You get wound up because you are making your points and you believe them."
(VIDEO: Woodward at war: POLITICO's "Behind the Curtain")
Some journalists on Twitter are siding with the White House over one of the icons of their profession and say the full text of the e-mail calls into question Woodward's claim that he had been threatened.
Prominent media writers at the New York Times and National Public Radio and a well-know conservative blogger were among those who shrugged off the supposedly threatening language.
Other journalists had fun with the entire episode.
Others hoped the e-mail exchange could reveal something about how Washington operates.
But Woodward does still have his backers.
Steve Benen, a liberal blogger for MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," said Woodward's claim would hurt his legacy.
"When it comes to his chosen profession, Bob Woodward has had the kind of career most media professionals can only dream of," Benen wrote. "… Which is why it saddens me to see him become so reckless for no reason. I just can't figure out what's gotten into Woodward, or why he's acting so erratically. But at this point, it seems Woodward is doing lasting, possibly irreparable harm to his once-sterling reputation, and that is a genuine shame."
Josh Marshall of the liberal Talking Points Memo suggested it would make him trust Woodward's reporting less in the future.
