Federal prosecutors reviewing Bezos’ claims of extortion
Federal prosecutors are reviewing accusations made by Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos to determine if the National Enquirer’s parent company might have violated the terms of a nonprosecution agreement struck over a hush money payment meant to help Donald Trump’s chances in the 2016 election, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bezos — the founder of Amazon and the owner of the Washington Post — on Thursday posted an account accusing the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., of trying to extort him into issuing a public statement about the supermarket tabloid, in exchange for the magazine not publishing embarrassing and sexually explicit photos of him.
Bezos’ post suggested that AMI’s conduct might be a violation of the nonprosecution agreement the company signed with federal prosecutors in New York in September, as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into campaign finance violations by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The deal requires AMI to “commit no crimes whatsoever” for a period of three years; if AMI breaks the terms, it could be charged with campaign finance crimes.
As part of the agreement, AMI admitted it paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 before the 2016 election to silence her allegations about an affair with Trump.
Two people familiar with the matter said the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan is reviewing Bezos’ accusations to determine whether AMI’s conduct amounts to a violation of the terms of that agreement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
American Media Inc. on Friday pledged to thoroughly investigate the extortion claims.
“American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos. Further, at the time of the recent allegations made by Mr. Bezos, it was in good faith negotiations to resolve all matters with him,” said the statement from the board, which is chaired by AMI’s chief executive, David Pecker.
The battle between the business titan and the supermarket tabloid had been building since January, when the Enquirer notified Bezos that it intended to publish text messages revealing his relationship with former TV anchor Lauren Sanchez.
About two days later, Bezos announced he was divorcing his wife, and the Enquirer’s story appeared shortly after. Bezos also hired investigators to find out how AMI had obtained the texts.