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Contrary to the suspicions of Jeff Bezos, it was not the White House, Saudi Arabia or hackers who provided National Enquirer with the racy texting cache that the Amazon's founder had sent to his girlfriend. According to a new report published by the Wall Street Journal, it was his brother who shared private messages with the tabloid – after being paid $ 200,000 by the magazine's publisher.
Michael Sánchez, artistic agent and brother of Lauren Sánchez, was a longtime source for Enquirer, the newspaper reported Monday. Last fall, he began tabloid talk about his sister's relationship with Bezos, the newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.
Enquirer was already following and photographing Bezos and Sánchez at the time of these conversations. David Pecker, CEO of American Media Inc., reportedly approved the payment to Sánchez so that the tabloid could acquire the badually charged text messages that the couple had sent.
The newspaper's investigation corroborates a report published in February by the Daily Beast that identified Michael Sánchez as the source of the leak of the text message. Sánchez refuted the allegation at the time. He told the Washington Post, owned by Bezos, that he did not share the SMS with Enquirer; Instead, he suggested that spies for foreign governments, "rival technology companies or" deep state "actors in the US government" could be the culprits.
Enquirer published an 11-page report on the Bezos affair with television personality and helicopter pilot Lauren Sánchez in January. The tabloid has published photographs showing the couple together, as well as quotes from their private SMS. The magazine claimed that the couple had been dating for at least eight months.
Bezos and his 25-year-old wife Mackenzie Bezos announced on Jan. 9 that they were divorcing. According to the newspaper, the announcement comes 48 hours after the Enquirer contacted the billionaire entrepreneur to ask him to comment on his story.
The expose sparked a nasty fight – and public – between Bezos and the tabloid. The leader of the Amazon hired an investigator, Gavin de Becker, to determine how the Enquirer had obtained his personal SMS. Last month, De Becker told La Poste that Sanchez had been the subject of his investigation.
Last month, Bezos said in a blog post that Pecker was furious with the probe and tried to blackmail him. The president of American Media Inc. has threatened to publish more text messages and images, including a "dick spike," Bezos said.
"Rather than surrender in the face of extortion and blackmail, I decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal costs and embarrbadment that I experienced. they threaten, "wrote Bezos.
In the blog, Bezos suggested that Pecker's close relationship with President Donald Trump and his ties to the Saudi royal family may have played a role in the executive's decision to advance Enquirer's story.
"It is inevitable that some influential people who benefit from the Washington Post's media coverage mistakenly conclude that I am their enemy," Bezos wrote in this article. "President Trump is one of those people, which is clear from his many tweets. In addition, The Post's critical and relentless coverage of the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi is undoubtedly unpopular in some quarters. "
The Saudi royal family is accused of orchestrating the killing of Khashoggi in Turkey.
A few days after Bezos had expressed his suspicions, the Daily Beast identified Michael Sánchez as the alleged leader of private SMS messages. Sanchez, a supporter of Trump, "thinks the Enquirer has continued his story on Bezos with" the knowledge and appreciation of President Trump "."
Trump said he had no knowledge of Enquirer's story before it was published.
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