New York Post Accused of anti-Obama bias, former editor sues

Sandra Guzman, a former editor at the New York Post, has filed a lawsuit against her former employer with allegations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination and "unlawful employment practices and retaliation."

Huffington Post has the 36-page complaint, which details instances of sexual harassment involving top editor Col Allan. While those charges will likely get the most attention, Guzman — who spoke up against a controversial Post cartoon earlier this year — claims that the paper is out to get Obama.

"The Post's decision to publish the racist cartoon was part of a concerted effort at the Company to undermine President Obama's authority and attack the first African-American President in this country's history."

Guzman also claims that D.C. bureau chief Charlie Hurt  "and a high ranking journalist at the newspaper  had confirmed to [her] that the Post had such a policy in place, telling her that the Post's 'goal is to destroy Barack Obama. We don't want him to succeed.'" (Hurt didn't respond to HuffPo.)

“This lawsuit has no merit and is based on charges that are groundless," a Post spokesperson said in a statement to POLITICO.  "As previously stated, Ms. Guzman’s position was eliminated when the section she edited was discontinued due to a decline in advertising sales.”

The Post's editorial page — viewed as a window into Rupert Murdoch's head — endorsed Obama in the Democratic primary but went with John McCain in the general election.

The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions.[2] Since 1993, it has been owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which had owned it previously from 1976 to 1988 before being forced to sell it because of government restrictions on the press. It is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. by circulation.[3]