Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos said Thursday that he was the target of an extortion attempt by the National Enquirer, which he said threatened to publish embarrassing photos of him if he didn’t halt his investigation into how the tabloid obtained private texts and photos between him and his mistress. Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, said the Enquirer made the blackmail threat after he began looking into how the tabloid acquired text messages that revealed his relationship with Lauren Sanchez, a former TV anchor. Instead, Bezos published emails from National Enquirer executives to a lawyer representing de Becker, including one in which top editor Dylan Howard appears to suggest that the tabloid would publish revealing photos of Bezos and Sanchez. I hope common sense can prevail — and quickly.”Bezos went on to say in the statement that “any personal embarrassment AMI could cause me takes a back seat because there’s a much more important matter involved here,” Bezos wrote. “If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?”[Was tabloid exposé of Bezos affair just juicy gossip or a political hit job?]

Source: Washington Post February 07, 2019 23:39 UTC