The National Enquirer has denied that the Saudi government hacked Jeff Bezos’ phone and leaked texts that exposed his affair to Lauren Sanchez.
American Media Inc took to Twitter on Sunday to shoot down recent claims from Gavin de Becker, a longtime security consultant who was hired by Bezos.
The tabloid magazine insisted there was no third party involvement in its affair coverage, claiming that Sanchez’s brother Michael was its only source.
‘Despite the false and unsubstantiated claims of Mr de Becker, American Media has, and continues to, refute the unsubstantiated claims that the materials for our report were acquired with the help of anyone other than the single source who first brought them to us,’ the company said in a statement posted to Twitter.
The National Enquirer has denied that the Saudi government hacked Jeff Bezos’ phone and leaked texts that exposed his affair to Lauren Sanchez
The tabloid magazine insisted there was no third party involvement in its affair coverage, claiming that Sanchez’s brother Michael (pictured together) was its only source
‘The fact of the matter is, it was Michael Sanchez who tipped the National Enquirer off to the affair on September 10, 2018, and over the course of four months provided all the materials for our investigation.’
American Media said it had waived Michael’s confidentiality due to his ‘continued efforts to discuss and falsely represent our reporting and his role in it’.
Last month, Bezos accused the National Enquirer of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing ‘intimate photos’ he allegedly sent to Sanchez unless he publicly stated that the tabloid’s reporting on him was not politically motivated.
And, on Saturday, De Becker claimed American Media Inc privately demanded he deny finding any evidence of ‘electronic eavesdropping or hacking in their newsgathering process’.
American Media said it had waived Michael’s confidentiality due to his ‘continued efforts to discuss and falsely represent our reporting and his role in it’
‘Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos’ phone, and gained private information,’ De Becker wrote in the Daily Beast.
‘As of today, it is unclear to what degree, if any, AMI was aware of the details.’
In February, the kingdom’s minister of state for foreign affairs said Saudi Arabia had ‘absolutely nothing to do’ with the National Enquirer’s reporting on the affair.
De Becker said he has turned over the findings of his investigation to US federal officials, without elaborating.
In a Medium post, Bezos alluded to Saudi Arabia’s displeasure at the Bezos-owned Washington Post’s coverage of the murder of its columnist and Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
American Media Inc took to Twitter on Sunday to shoot down recent claims from Gavin de Becker, a longtime security consultant who was hired by Bezos (pictured here with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in March)
Last month, Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, denied any connection between Saudi Arabia and AMI while appearing on CBS’ Face the Nation
Bezos also referenced media reports about alleged links between American Media Inc and Saudi Arabia, writing that its CEO, David Pecker, had ‘been investigated for various actions they’ve taken on behalf of the Saudi Government’.
The killing of Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate last October strained the country’s ties with Western allies, exposed the kingdom to possible sanctions, and tarnished the image of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On CBS’ Face the Nation on February 10, moderator Margaret Brennan asked Saudi Arabia’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, if the Saudi government was involved in the National Enquirer leaks.
‘This is something between the two parties, we have nothing to do with it,’ al-Jubeir said.
Khashoggi’s murder at Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate last October has tarnished the image of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left with Donald Trump in March 2018)
‘It sounds to me like a soap opera,’ he went on to say, speculating that, ‘Maybe some of our citizens read The National Enquirer when they’re in the United States…but that’s it.’
Jubeir also said he was not aware of any links between the Saudi government and American Media Inc or Pecker.
Federal prosecutors are said to be reviewing the emails American Media Inc sent to Bezos in an effort to determine whether the company violated its immunity deal by attempting to blackmail Bezos over his personal photos.
American Media Inc’s emails were sent just months after the company agreed to fully cooperate with the Department of Justice in its investigation involving President Trump.