The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TODAY’S NEWSMAKER BEZOS’ CLAIMS SPUR INQUIRY ON ENQUIRER
The National Enquirer’s alleged attempts to blackmail Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with intimate photos could get the tabloid’s parent company and top editors in deep legal trouble and reopen them to prosecution for paying hush money to a Playboy model who claimed to have had an affair with Donald Trump.
Federal prosecutors are looking at whether the Enquirer’s feud with Bezos violated a cooperation and nonprosecution agreement that recently spared the tabloid from charges in the hush-money case, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday.
Who is he?
Bezos, 55, is the founder and CEO of Amazon and the world’s richest man. He also owns aerospace company Blue Origin and The Washington Post.
Why it matters
The clash between Bezos and the supermarket tabloid spilled into public view late Thursday when Bezos accused it in a blog post of threatening to print photos of Bezos and the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. He said the Enquirer demanded he stop investigating how it obtained private messages he and his girlfriend had exchanged.
Enquirer owner American Media Inc. said Friday its board of directors ordered a prompt and thorough investigation and will take “whatever appropriate action is necessary.” Earlier in the day, the company said it “acted lawfully” while reporting the story and engaged in “goodfaith negotiations” with Bezos.
Bezos’ blog post included emails from an AMI attorney saying the tabloid wouldn’t post the photos if the Bezos camp publicly stated it has no evidence to suggest Enquirer coverage of Bezos was politically motivated.
It is a federal crime to threaten someone’s reputation in exchange for money or a “thing of value,” but federal courts haven’t made clear if a public statement, like the one demanded by AMI, could be seen as something of value. Bezos said the Enquirer did not demand money.
What’s next
AMI reached a deal with federal authorities sparing it from prosecution for campaign-finance violations, after it acknowledged secretly assisting Trump’s campaign by paying $150,000 to Playboy model Karen McDougal for rights to her story about an alleged affair with Trump. Violating the deal could spur criminal charges over the McDougal payments. The Enquirer and top execs could also face state and federal extortion and coercion charges and prosecution under New York City’s revenge porn law, which bans even the threat of sharing intimate photos, experts said.