The author of a new biography that paints an unflattering portrait of Fox News chief Roger Ailes responded to a claim by Fox News that the book was not fact-checked, saying it was indeed fact-checked and indicating that Fox News, and in particular Ailes, were responsible for putting up roadblocks to vetting the reporting, Politico reports.

Gabriel Sherman, the author of "The Loudest Voice in the Room," told the website in a statement: "During two and a half years of reporting, I made a dozen requests both in writing and in person to speak with Roger Ailes about every aspect of my book, ‘The Loudest Voice in the Room.’ A team of two fact-checkers spent more than 2,000 hours vetting the manuscript before publication. Roger Ailes declined every request to discuss the reporting with me."

Ailes and Sherman have been waging a war of words over the book that goes back a few years. As we reported previously, the book, which comes out Jan. 21, includes the claim that Ailes called popular Fox News host Bill O’Reilly "a book salesman with a TV show," along with other negative portrayals of Ailes.

"In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, conducted in December and published on Wednesday, Ailes criticized Sherman and Random House for not fact-checking the book’s content with Fox News," Politico reports.

Asked about the book during that interview, Ailes is quoted as saying: "Bette Davis said, I think it was Bette Davis, ‘What other people think of me is none of my business.’ Attacking me and Fox News is nothing new — it’s a cottage industry. What’s new is that Random House refused to fact-check the content with me or Fox News — that tells you everything you need to know about this book and its agenda."

Politico adds: "The book, which is based off interviews with more than 600 people who know or have worked with Ailes, includes several less than savory revelations and paints a portrait of Ailes as a ‘volatile’ and ‘domineering’ manager."

Gabriel Sherman