If American Media is found to have broken a law, it would be in violation of a deal struck with federal prosecutors in connection to hush money paid to protect Donald Trump.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, did not become the world’s richest man by refusing to do what it takes to win. And now that he finds himself in a mud fight with the supermarket tabloid that exposed his extramarital affair, he is showing off the same will and drive that helped him turn a simple idea — selling books on the internet — into an all-purpose, $780 billion powerhouse.
Mr. Bezos has risked significant personal embarrassment in taking on American Media Inc., the company that owns The National Enquirer, which devoted 11 pages to the tale of his affair with Lauren Sanchez, a former host of the Fox show “So You Think You Can Dance.” But with a personal fortune of more than $130 billion, he has the means to torment his tormentors. And as he showed with his surprise blog post on Thursday, in which he described in unstinting detail American Media’s threat to publish compromising photographs of him, including a “below the belt” selfie, Mr. Bezos is willing to get dirty in the pursuit of victory.
He has attacked American Media right where it hurts: its shaky legal position.
Federal prosecutors are reviewing Mr. Bezos’ claim that he has been extorted, according to two people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly. And those prosecutors have planned a meeting with Mr. Bezos’ representatives, one of those people said.
If American Media is found to have broken a law — any law — it would be in violation of a deal it struck with federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York in September, after it admitted to paying hush money during the 2016 presidential campaign to protect Donald J. Trump from allegations of an affair. That deal guaranteed that the company would not be prosecuted for its work on Mr. Trump’s behalf as long as it stayed out of legal trouble for the next three years.
Even as American Media fell into legal jeopardy last year, its board stood by the company’s chairman, David J. Pecker, and the top news executive, Dylan Howard. After Mr. Bezos’ lengthy post on Thursday, however, the company announced that the once-steadfast board was starting an investigation of his claims.
“American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos,” the company said in a statement on Friday. “Nonetheless, in light of the nature of the allegations published by Mr. Bezos, the board has convened and determined that it should promptly and thoroughly investigate the claims. Upon completion of that investigation, the board will take whatever appropriate action is necessary.
