[ad_1]
American Media said in a statement Friday morning that the company "firmly believes that she acted legally in reporting on the story of Mr. Bezos".
"In addition, at the time of Mr. Bezos' recent allegations, negotiations with him were in good faith," the company said. "Nevertheless, given the nature of the allegations published by Mr Bezos, the Commission has met and decided to conduct a rapid and thorough investigation of the claims.After the investigation is completed, it will take all appropriate measures. "
The company did not immediately explain what the four-member council would do. Pecker is one of the members of the board of directors.
On Thursday night, Bezos confirmed his "extortion" with copies of what he had said to be multiple emails from American Media.
The story of Enquirer was published later in the day. Bezos has tasked security chief Gavin de Becker with investigating the leaks. According to Bezos' testimony, American Media was so troubled by Becker's probe and his public comments on it – and his conclusion that Enquirer's cover was "political in character" – that she was trying to silence Bezos and Becker.
"They said they would have more SMS and photos to post if they did not stop our investigation," writes Bezos on Medium. He called it "extortion and blackmail".
In one of the e-mails issued by Bezos, an AMI lawyer suggested to Bezos to deny any belief that Enquirer's cover was "political in character" and that in exchange, AMI would "publish , distribute or share unpublished text and photos ".
Rather than agree, Bezos publicly announced that sunlight was the best disinfectant in such a sordid case as this one.
"These communications reinforce the long-standing reputation of AMI, which has arsenalized journalistic privileges, hides behind important protections and ignores the principles and purpose of true journalism," wrote Bezos.
"Of course, I do not want personal photos to be published, but I will not participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks and corruption, which creeps up."
So now, everyone is waiting to see.
The Enquirer website does not say a word about this controversy.
But the allegations are on the front page of every major newspaper on Friday. The Washington Post, owned by Bezos, headlined "Bezos carries the allegation of extortion".
The New York Post and HuffPost had more fun: "Bezos Expose Pecker".
