Jeff Bezos investigator: Saudi Arabia obtained confidential information

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"Our investigators and several experts concluded with great confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone and obtained confidential information," Becker's Gavin wrote in an opinion piece published Saturday by the Daily Beast. He has not presented any concrete evidence in support of his allegations against the Saudi government. De Becker said his findings had been communicated to federal officials and that he would not disclose the details of the investigation out of respect for those officials, adding, "I have the intention to write today to be my last public statement on the subject ".

He added that it was not clear whether American Media Inc., the parent company of National Enquirer, or AMI, "was aware of the details".

AMI responded to Becker's allegation in a statement to CNN Business on Sunday, saying it was relying on a source, Sanchez's brother, Michael Sanchez, for his story.

"Despite Mr. Becker's false and unsubstantiated claims, American Media has refuted and continues to refute the unsupported assertions that the elements of our report were acquired with the assistance of anyone other than the sole source who brought them … there was no involvement of any other third party whatsoever. "

Saudi Arabia denies any relationship with the history of Bezos, according to Becker. Saudi and Becker officials have not responded to CNN's requests for comment on the draft opinion over the weekend.

De Becker's article raises the stakes of the National Enquirer's tabloid talk about a love affair between billionaire Amazon CEO and Sanchez, former presenter of Fox's local channel in Los Angeles. Bezos hinted that the AMI had tried to extort him to please the Saudi government – which would have ties to AMI and was annoyed by Washington's coverage of the Bezos of assassinated chronicler Jamal Khashoggi – or President Donald Trump. AMI says that's not the case.

Written for the Daily Beast, Bezos & # 39; Becker's investigator Gavin has accused the Saudi government of disclosing the evidence of Bezos & # 39; extramarital relationship with the National Enquirer due to the Washington Post's coverage of Jamal Khashoggi's death.

In the Daily Beast, de Becker wrote that he and his team had spoken with current and former AMI officials and sources, Middle Eastern intelligence experts, Saudi whistleblowers and dissidents, as well as former and current advisers to President Trump, before joining the conclusion.

The National Enquirer attempted to "force an American citizen[Saudi Arabia’s] The country's leaders wanted to be hurt, compromised and silenced, "Becker said.

Both the Bezos and the Washington Post have been repeatedly criticized by the president, who has his own ties to the US media.

AMI President David Pecker is a long-time friend of Trump, and Enquirer was one of the most reliable and enthusiastic media reminders during the campaign. The publisher admitted to having paid a US $ 150,000 payment in cooperation with members of Trump's presidential campaign to prevent the claims of a former Playboy model, Karen McDougal, on an affair with Trump were not made public during the 2016 race. Trump denied the case.

Federal prosecutors have finally entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the publisher, which has helped put an end to AMI's accusations about its role in securing the hidden cash of the company. Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen.

Billionaire Divorce. Tabloid supermarket. Extortion Claim - Jeff Bezos and the National Enquirer

De Becker thinks that the texts and photographs sent by Bezos and Lauren Sanchez were shared with the National Enquirer by Michael Sanchez.

But Becker says the National Enquirer was aware of the messages before approaching Sanchez. Sanchez told CNN Business that AMI was already looking for a story about this relationship when it was about him. He added that "Becker's latest distraction" contains "no evidence".

In his statement, AMI stated that "the fact is that it was Michael Sanchez who informed the National Enquirer of the case on September 10, 2018 and, within four months, provided all the necessary elements for our investigation. The spokesman added that "Sanchez's sustained efforts to discuss and misrepresent our reports, as well as his role in it, have waived the confidentiality of all sources."

De Becker says the first source is the Saudi government. He said the Saudi rulers wanted to hurt Bezos because of the Washington Post's coverage of Khashoggi's death. Khashoggi, who had criticized Saudi Arabia and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, was killed and dismembered at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in the fall.

The Saudis presented shifting stories about Khashoggi's fate, initially denying any information before arguing that a group of dishonest operators, many of whom belonged to bin Salman's restricted circle, were responsible for the journalist's death. Riyadh asserted that neither Salman nor King Salman were aware of the operation to target Khashoggi. US officials, however, have stated that such a mission – including 15 men sent from Riyadh – could have been carried out without bin Salman's permission.

The Washington Post has covered the incident closely and Bezos has been the target of a pro-Saudi campaign led by Saudi social media users and a Saudi journalist following the death of Khashoggi who called for a boycott against Amazon and Souk. business site owned by Amazon.

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Bezos himself drew attention to the link between AMI and Saudi Arabia in an explosive blog that he published in February in Medium, accusing AMI of having tried to do so sing with the evidence of the case.

In his message, Bezos said that the MAI had been investigated "for various actions undertaken on behalf of the Saudi government".

He referred to an Associated Press article about AMI's publication of a glossy magazine celebrating the visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the United States in April 2018. AMI denied the fact that the Saudis had directed the magazine's production or had it paid, but the AP reported that three weeks before the prince's arrival, the media company sent a copy to the embassy from Saudi Arabia, where she circulated among officials who later shared her with contacts of Washington's foreign policy. AMI said it did not share a draft report with the Saudis, AP said in its article.

De Becker also referred to this story as evidence of a connection between AMI and the Saudi government.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has denied in the past any link between his country and AMI with CNN.

– Brian Stelter, Oliver Darcy, Tom Kludt, Nicole Gaouette, Nada Altaher, Chandler Thornton and Sheena McKenzie from CNN contributed to this report.

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