National Enquirer Denies Saudi Involvement In Leak Of Bezos Texts

on September 19, 2018 in National Harbor, Maryland.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD - SEPTEMBER 19: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, founder of space venture Blue Origin and owner of The Washington Post, participates in an event hosted by the Air Force Association September 19, 2018 in Na... NATIONAL HARBOR, MD - SEPTEMBER 19: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, founder of space venture Blue Origin and owner of The Washington Post, participates in an event hosted by the Air Force Association September 19, 2018 in National Harbor, Maryland. Bezos talked about innovating in large organizations as well as staying on the cutting edge in the space industry. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

After Jeff Bezos’ longtime investigator published an op-ed in the Daily Beast over the weekend suggesting that Saudi Arabia had somehow been involved in leaking text messages from Bezos’ phone to the National Enquirer, the tabloid slapped down the accusation.

“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,” American Media Inc. said in a statement obtained by Mediaite.

“The fact of the matter is, it was Michael Sanchez who tipped the National Enquirer off to the affair on Sept. 10, 2018, and over the course of four months provided all of the materials for our investigation,” the statement reads. “His continued efforts to discuss and falsely represent our reporting, and his role in it, has waived any source confidentiality. There was no involvement by any other third party whatsoever.”

Bezos funded his own investigation into the matter after private text messages between himself and Lauren Sanchez, an Los Angeles news anchor, were published in the National Enquirer, exposing his affair and prompting his divorce. Bezos alleges the tabloid apparently tried to extort him by threatening to publish private photos of him.

The Amazon executive believes the whole ordeal is politically motivated, given the National Enquirer’s close ties to Trump, who regularly criticizes Amazon and The Washington Post, both owned by Bezos. Lauren Sanchez’s brother Michael Sanchez has admitted to being involved in the Enquirer’s investigation into the affair, but claims he only helped in order to protect his sister and Bezos.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. National Enquirer Denies Saudi Involvement In Leak Of Bezos Texts

    LBJ strikes again.

  2. someone spin up a handful of “Sure Jan” memes, STAT!

  3. Avatar for tpr tpr says:

    To be fair, the MSM has the long-term memory of a tomato.

  4. Well, if the national Enquirer has a statement we should definitely take them at their word, right?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

14 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for paulw Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for cervantes Avatar for hassler Avatar for sanni Avatar for martinstett Avatar for riverstreet Avatar for reggid Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for fuashcroft Avatar for tpr Avatar for atldrew Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for paul_lukasiak Avatar for ameliababy

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: