The hedge fund that controls American Media Inc. has become increasingly “disgusted” by the National Enquirer’s reporting practices and AMI is actively looking to sell the tabloid, The Washington Post reported.
After the tabloid and AMI CEO David Pecker became embroiled in a scandal associated with the President and hush money payments to keep a former Playboy model quiet about her alleged affair with President Trump, the company’s board of directors started exploring ways to get rid of National Enquirer.
“They didn’t want to deal with hassles like this anymore,” a person familiar with the process told the Post.
The tabloid has come under increased scrutiny in recent months after it published private text messages between Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, whom Bezos was having an affair with. The story ended Bezos’ marriage and the billionaire is funding his own investigation into how his text messages were obtained by National Enquirer. Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, believes the scandal was politically motivated, given Pecker’s close relationship with Trump and Trump’s dislike for Amazon and the Post.
