Amazon's Bezos Faces Extortion Claims as Tabloid Owner Launches Probe
American Media Inc. vows to investigate Jeff Bezos's blackmail accusations while continuing to defend its publication of his private text messages.
American Media Inc., the owner of The National Enquirer, announces an investigation into Jeff Bezos's explosive claims of extortion and blackmail. The move comes just one day after the Amazon CEO publicly accuses the tabloid of threatening to release intimate photos unless he meets their specific demands. Despite the internal probe, the media company firmly maintains that it acts lawfully when it publishes Bezos's private text messages last month.
Bezos enlists private investigator Gavin de Becker to uncover exactly how the tabloid obtains his personal communications. The situation draws additional scrutiny because Bezos owns The Washington Post, which recently publishes a story questioning whether The National Enquirer's initial article about Bezos is politically motivated. This connection plays a central role in the alleged threats made by the publication.
In a detailed online post titled "No thank you, Mr. Pecker," Bezos directly addresses American Media CEO David Pecker and outlines the alleged extortion plot. Bezos claims the tabloid demands that he and de Becker publicly abandon their theory of political motivation in exchange for keeping the racy photos unpublished. The tech executive refuses to comply with what he describes as a clear attempt at blackmail.