Bezos probe: Girlfriend’s brother was source
WASHINGTON (AP) — Private investigators working for Jeff Bezos have concluded that the brother of the Amazon CEO’s girlfriend leaked the couple’s intimate text messages to the National Enquirer, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press yesterday.
The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
The findings add to the intrigue surrounding the clash between the pro-Trump tabloid and the world’s richest man. Bezos’ investigators have suggested the Enquirer’s coverage of his affair was driven by dirty politics. Trump has been highly critical of Bezos over his ownership of The Washington Post and Amazon, and the Post’s coverage of the White House.
The brother, Michael Sanchez, is a supporter of US President Donald Trump and an acquaintance of Trump allies Roger Stone and Carter Page.
He is also the manager of his sister, Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor. The investigators have not said how they believe Michael Sanchez came into possession of his sister’s intimate messages.
Michael Sanchez did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Monday. In a Jan. 31 tweet, he said without evidence that Bezos’ long- time security consultant, Gavin de Becker, who is leading the private investigation, “spreads fake, unhinged conservative conspiracy theories.”
An attorney for the tabloid’s parent company did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
On Sunday, an attorney for the head of American Media, which owns the Enquirer, said that the information for the story had been provided by a “reliable source” well-known to Bezos and Sanchez. The source had provided information to the company for at least seven years, Elkan Abramowitz, an attorney for American Media Inc. chief executive David Pecker, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
He was asked if Sanchez was the source and he said: “I’m not permitted to tell you or confirm or deny who the source is.”
But the Daily Beast, citing people inside American Media, Inc., reported that Sanchez was the Enquirer’s source.