Bloomberg Says His Reporters Must 'Live With' Limits On Coverage

Democratic presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg on Friday defended the policy implemented by his news agency to steer clear of investigating him, saying doing so would not be credible.

Bloomberg told CBS News he "hired somebody outside" to run the Bloomberg News organization and establish policies for ethics.

"People have said to me, 'How can you investigate yourself?' And I said, 'I don't think you can.'"

The billionaire businessman said the agency includes information from other sources including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal and added, "there's plenty of ways for people to get news about the candidates if they look at Bloomberg News."

When asked about complaints from Bloomberg journalists that the policy to avoid investigating him or other Democratic candidates, he replied, that they "have to live with some things" about the job.

"They get a paycheck," he said. "But with your paycheck comes some restrictions and responsibilities."

Bloomberg, who faces a delicate task in keeping his business and campaign operations separate, came under fire recently over the news policy from President Donald Trump, who barred Bloomberg journalists from his campaign and said the decision showed "bias."

Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait denied any charges of bias and said the organization would continue coverage of Trump "fairly and in an unbiased way."

Among the world's richest individuals, Bloomberg has pledged to spend freely from his estimated $54 billion fortune to defeat Trump, calling him "an existential threat to our country and our values."