An attorney for the National Enquirer says the person who leaked the text messages between Jeff Bezos and his mistress Lauren Sanchez is ‘well known’ to both of them.
Elkan Abramowitz, who represents the publication’s parent company American Media Inc. chief executive David Pecker, also denied the tabloid committed extortion or blackmail by threatening to publish the Amazon CEO’s explicit photos.
In an interview with ABC’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday, Abromowitz said the story was given to the Enquirer by a ‘reliable source’ who was ‘well known’ to Bezos and Sanchez.
He refused to answer when asked if the leaker was Lauren Sanchez’s brother Michael.
Elkan Abramowitz, who represents American Media Inc. chief executive David Pecker, said the person who leaked the text messages between Jeff Bezos and his mistress Lauren Sanchez is ‘well known’ to both of them
The Enquirer published a story last month that included lurid texts between Bezos and former TV anchor Sanchez.
Bezos claimed on Thursday that AMI later threatened to expose his revealing photos if he didn’t have his private investigators back off.
The Amazon boss has been investigating how the tabloid obtained his private exchanges with his mistress.
Bezos, who is also owner of The Washington Post, detailed his interactions with AMI, in an extraordinary blog post Thursday on Medium.com.
The billionaire did not say the tabloid was seeking money – instead, he said, the Enquirer wanted him to make a public statement that the tabloid’s coverage was not politically motivated.
AMI’s attorney defended the tabloid’s practice on Sunday, saying it was a ‘negotiation’.
Abramowitz also refuted allegations the story was politically motivated because of Pecker’s close friendship with President Trump, who has repeatedly railed against Bezos.
‘It absolutely is not extortion and not blackmail,’ Abramowitz said.
‘Bezos didn’t want another story written about him or those pictures published, AMI did not want to have the libel against them that this was inspired by the White House, inspired by Saudi Arabia or inspired by The Washington Post.
‘It had nothing to do with it. It was a usual story that National Enquirer gets from reliable sources.’
Bezos claimed on Thursday that AMI later threatened to expose his revealing photos if he didn’t have his private investigators back off. The Amazon boss has been investigating how the tabloid obtained his private exchanges with his mistress
Elkan Abramowitz refused to answer when asked if the leaker was Lauren Sanchez’s brother Michael. Lauren is pictured above at Santa Monica Airport
When asked if it was a ‘take down’ to please Trump, Abramowitz replied: ‘Any investigator knew it was not the White House.’
Bezos’ accusations from earlier in the week added another twist to the high-profile clash between the world’s richest man and the leader of America’s best-known tabloid.
Bezos’ investigators have suggested the Enquirer’s coverage of his affair – which included the release of risque texts – was driven by dirty politics.
‘Of course I don’t want personal photos published, but I also won’t participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks, and corruption,’ Bezos wrote of AMI, in explaining his decision to go public.
‘I prefer to stand up, roll this log over, and see what crawls out.’
AMI has admitted in the past that it engaged in what’s known as ‘catch-and-kill’ practices to help Trump become president. Trump has been highly critical of Bezos and the Post’s coverage of the White House.
The Bezos affair became public when the Enquirer published a January 9 story about his relationship with Sanchez, a former TV anchor who is also married. Bezos then hired a team of private investigators to find out how the tabloid got the texts and photos the two exchanged.
Several days ago, someone at AMI told Bezos’ team that the company’s CEO David Pecker was ‘apoplectic’ about the investigation, Bezos said. AMI later approached Bezos’ representatives with an offer.
American Media has defended their dealings with billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in a statement, saying the company ‘acted lawfully’ (AMI owner David Pecker on left, Chief Content Creator Dylan Howard on right)
The National Enquirer’s cover story on Bezos’ divorce and relationship with Sanchez
‘They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn’t stop our investigation,’ Bezos wrote.
Bezos wrote that this week, the tabloid’s editor, Dylan Howard, emailed an attorney for Bezos’ longtime security consultant to describe photos the Enquirer ‘obtained during our newsgathering.’ The photos include a ‘below the belt selfie’ of Bezos, photos of him in tight boxer-briefs and wearing only a towel, and several revealing photos of Sanchez, according to the emails Bezos released.
According to the emails, an attorney for AMI offered a formal deal Wednesday: The tabloid wouldn’t post the photos if Bezos and his investigators would release a public statement ‘affirming that they have no knowledge or basis’ to suggest the Enquirer’s coverage was ‘politically motivated or influenced by political forces.’
Bezos said he decided to publish the emails sent to his team ‘rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail,’ despite the ‘personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.’
In its initial story, the Enquirer said reporters followed Bezos and Sanchez ‘across five states and 40,000 miles’ and ‘tailed them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and ‘quality time’ in hidden love nests.’
It reported that Bezos sent ‘sleazy text messages and gushing love notes’ to Sanchez, months before Bezos announced he was splitting up with his wife, MacKenzie.