Michael Cohen may ultimately register just a few days of buzz among a number of Donald Trump-related tell alls this month, but his claims give new details on the level of coordination between Trump and favored media outlets.
Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney who is currently serving out a three-year sentence in home confinement, published his book Disloyal: A Memoir on Tuesday and is at the start of a media blitz. He plead guilty in 2018 to tax evasion and campaign finance violations.
First and foremost among Trump’s media allies was the National Enquirer, and Cohen’s contention that Trump was tipped and even gave tacit approval to stories that trafficked in rumors about his 2016 Republican primary opponents. That included the Enquirer publication of a photo purported to show Ted Cruz’s father with Lee Harvey Oswald, a claim that has been debunked but nevertheless was still trafficked by the candidate.
Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney who is currently serving out a three-year sentence in home confinement, published his book Disloyal: A Memoir on Tuesday and is at the start of a media blitz. He plead guilty in 2018 to tax evasion and campaign finance violations.
First and foremost among Trump’s media allies was the National Enquirer, and Cohen’s contention that Trump was tipped and even gave tacit approval to stories that trafficked in rumors about his 2016 Republican primary opponents. That included the Enquirer publication of a photo purported to show Ted Cruz’s father with Lee Harvey Oswald, a claim that has been debunked but nevertheless was still trafficked by the candidate.
- 9/9/2020
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
David Pecker, the longtime publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer, is leaving the role as part of a deal unveiled Friday in which the paper’s parent company American Media LLC said it was merging with Accelerate, a national wholesale distribution company.
Pecker, the longtime, often controversial president and CEO of Enquirer parent American Media, will become an executive adviser to the new combined company, which will be known as A360. Chris Scardino, previously EVP and Group Publisher and an 18-year veteran of American Media, becomes president.
“This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor,” Accelerate CEO David Parry said in a release announcing the news.
This move comes over a year after it was announced the scandal hobbled Enquirer was to be sold to a...
Pecker, the longtime, often controversial president and CEO of Enquirer parent American Media, will become an executive adviser to the new combined company, which will be known as A360. Chris Scardino, previously EVP and Group Publisher and an 18-year veteran of American Media, becomes president.
“This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor,” Accelerate CEO David Parry said in a release announcing the news.
This move comes over a year after it was announced the scandal hobbled Enquirer was to be sold to a...
- 8/22/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
David Pecker is out as the CEO and President of American Media, the owner of tabloids like the National Enquirer, as part of a merger between Ami and the wholesale distributor Accelerate, the company announced on Friday.
Pecker will move to a new advisory role, effective immediately, for the reconfigured Ami, which has now been renamed A360 Media. Chris Scardino, the former executive vice president and group publisher of American Media, has been named the president of A360 Media.
Also Read: National Enquirer Owner Ami Applies for Small Business Loan From Trump Administration
“This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor,” Accelerate CEO David Parry said in a statement.
Pecker has faced scrutiny for his close ties with Donald Trump and the role he played in determining coverage of Trump,...
Pecker will move to a new advisory role, effective immediately, for the reconfigured Ami, which has now been renamed A360 Media. Chris Scardino, the former executive vice president and group publisher of American Media, has been named the president of A360 Media.
Also Read: National Enquirer Owner Ami Applies for Small Business Loan From Trump Administration
“This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor,” Accelerate CEO David Parry said in a statement.
Pecker has faced scrutiny for his close ties with Donald Trump and the role he played in determining coverage of Trump,...
- 8/21/2020
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Wrap
American Media Inc. executive Dylan Howard is out after more than a decade at the publishing company, Variety has learned exclusively.
Howard’s contract, which expired on March 31, was not renewed. Reasons for his departure were not immediately clear, though rumors of his exit had been brewing internally at the owner of Us Weekly and InTouch magazines for weeks, multiple sources said, with another adding the decision not to renew Howard’s contract was mutual. The unflinching tabloid editor had become the subject of media storms surrounding Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump in recent years.
Howard and American Media did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Howard most recently served as a senior vice president in corporate development, where he was said to be conceiving scripted and unscripted projects in the true crime arena. Prior to that, Howard spent six years as the editor in chief of Ami digital gossip property RadarOnline,...
Howard’s contract, which expired on March 31, was not renewed. Reasons for his departure were not immediately clear, though rumors of his exit had been brewing internally at the owner of Us Weekly and InTouch magazines for weeks, multiple sources said, with another adding the decision not to renew Howard’s contract was mutual. The unflinching tabloid editor had become the subject of media storms surrounding Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump in recent years.
Howard and American Media did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Howard most recently served as a senior vice president in corporate development, where he was said to be conceiving scripted and unscripted projects in the true crime arena. Prior to that, Howard spent six years as the editor in chief of Ami digital gossip property RadarOnline,...
- 4/6/2020
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Karen McDougal, the woman who claims that she had an affair with Donald Trump after they met in 2006, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Thursday over a Tucker Carlson Tonight segment in which he inferred that she engaged in extortion.
It was McDougal, a former Playboy model, who sold her story to the National Enquirer just before the 2016 election, but did not publish it, in a practice known as “catch and kill.” Federal prosecutors later said that American Media CEO David Pecker coordinated with Trump’s then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay McDougal and later be reimbursed.
In December of last year, Carlson said that the “facts are undisputed” that McDougal and another woman who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, Stormy Daniels, “approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn’t give them money.”
Carlson added, “Now that...
It was McDougal, a former Playboy model, who sold her story to the National Enquirer just before the 2016 election, but did not publish it, in a practice known as “catch and kill.” Federal prosecutors later said that American Media CEO David Pecker coordinated with Trump’s then-attorney, Michael Cohen, to pay McDougal and later be reimbursed.
In December of last year, Carlson said that the “facts are undisputed” that McDougal and another woman who claimed to have had an affair with Trump, Stormy Daniels, “approached Donald Trump and threatened to ruin his career and humiliate his family if he doesn’t give them money.”
Carlson added, “Now that...
- 12/5/2019
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Enquiring minds want to know what’s behind the renewed fascination with The National Enquirer. The supermarket tabloid has made a lot of news recently on everything from owner David Pecker’s dealings with President Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos’ private war to prevent the publication of X-rated images, and the recent documentary Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer from director Mark Landsman.
Rambling Reporter has learned that there’s more where that came from.
Arts District Entertainment — the production company headed by Roger Birnbaum and Eli Roth with head of development Michael Besman — has optioned Paul David ...
Rambling Reporter has learned that there’s more where that came from.
Arts District Entertainment — the production company headed by Roger Birnbaum and Eli Roth with head of development Michael Besman — has optioned Paul David ...
- 11/30/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
When grocery store shoppers snag a copy of Weekly World News (the rag responsible for the refuses-to-die “Bat Child” hoax), they know they’re getting fake news. But when they pick up the National Enquirer, it’s a far more ambiguous prospect.
Enquirer headlines are deliberately provocative, shouting details of the private lives of real people — including Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor and Oprah Winfrey — from their strategic perch in checkout aisles across America. Over the course of nearly seven decades, the tabloid crushed the aspirations of at least one presidential contender (by publishing the photo that exposed Gary Hart’s extramarital affair) and crusaded to elect another, running negative coverage of Donald Trump’s political opponents, which the candidate conveniently referenced in his 2016 campaign.
A hard-hitting — and at times hard-to-stomach — documentary from “Thunder Soul” director Mark Landsman, “Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer” subjects the tabloid to the...
Enquirer headlines are deliberately provocative, shouting details of the private lives of real people — including Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor and Oprah Winfrey — from their strategic perch in checkout aisles across America. Over the course of nearly seven decades, the tabloid crushed the aspirations of at least one presidential contender (by publishing the photo that exposed Gary Hart’s extramarital affair) and crusaded to elect another, running negative coverage of Donald Trump’s political opponents, which the candidate conveniently referenced in his 2016 campaign.
A hard-hitting — and at times hard-to-stomach — documentary from “Thunder Soul” director Mark Landsman, “Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer” subjects the tabloid to the...
- 11/16/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
On an unseasonably warm October afternoon, in a basement in the historic Cooper Union Building in Manhattan, Ronan Farrow, flanked by a team of well-dressed publicists, is diligently signing books. It is Tuesday, the day of the book’s release, and he says it is the first time he has seen them laid out en masse in labyrinthine stacks, almost like an “M.C. Escher drawing,” he says.
Farrow is one of the last true cultural polymaths. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and the author of Catch and Kill,...
Farrow is one of the last true cultural polymaths. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and the author of Catch and Kill,...
- 10/17/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
The title of Ronan Farrow’s upcoming #MeToo exposé, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, is a reference to the practice of editors buying exclusive rights to a story that contains incriminating information, then burying it as a way of protecting the publication or its powerful allies. So it’s apropos that Farrow, in attempting to expose the media’s practice of suppressing information, is facing a lawsuit from a powerful publisher attempting to do exactly that.
Dylan Howard, an executive at the mega-tabloid publisher American Media Inc.
Dylan Howard, an executive at the mega-tabloid publisher American Media Inc.
- 10/3/2019
- by EJ Dickson
- Rollingstone.com
The trailer for Scandalous, an upcoming documentary on the infamous American tabloid the National Enquirer, is out Tuesday. Directed by Mark Landsman, the film is in theaters November 15th.
Scandalous traces the 60-year history of the National Enquirer and offers an inside look at how it filled its pages with sex, gossip and scandal, using unethical and occasionally illegal tactics such as blackmailing, paying sources and disguising their reporters. Through interviews with former and current employees of the tabloid, the documentary looks at some of the Enquirer‘s most notorious stories,...
Scandalous traces the 60-year history of the National Enquirer and offers an inside look at how it filled its pages with sex, gossip and scandal, using unethical and occasionally illegal tactics such as blackmailing, paying sources and disguising their reporters. Through interviews with former and current employees of the tabloid, the documentary looks at some of the Enquirer‘s most notorious stories,...
- 9/24/2019
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Updated, 12:37 Pm: American Media Inc. will sell its National Enquirer and two sister pubs for $100 million to Hudson Media CEO James Cohen. The travel retail company is known for its airport newsstands, the Washington Post reports.
The paper adds that Ami’s decision to sell the Enquirer, which is run by longtime Donald Trump friend and confidant David Pecker, came after hedge fund manager whose firm controls Ami became disillusioned with the tabloid’s reporting tactics.
American Media has been under increasing pressure amid allegations that the Enquirer did its part to secure the 2016 presidential election for Trump.
Previously, April 10: American Media LLC, the parent corporation of the National Enquirer, is “exploring strategic options” for the tabloid brand, according to its announcement. The moves likely mean a sale is in the works.
The board for American Media began reviewing operations for the National Enquirer last August for the...
The paper adds that Ami’s decision to sell the Enquirer, which is run by longtime Donald Trump friend and confidant David Pecker, came after hedge fund manager whose firm controls Ami became disillusioned with the tabloid’s reporting tactics.
American Media has been under increasing pressure amid allegations that the Enquirer did its part to secure the 2016 presidential election for Trump.
Previously, April 10: American Media LLC, the parent corporation of the National Enquirer, is “exploring strategic options” for the tabloid brand, according to its announcement. The moves likely mean a sale is in the works.
The board for American Media began reviewing operations for the National Enquirer last August for the...
- 4/18/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Paul Pope, son of National Enquirer founder Generoso Pope Jr., says he will drop plans to purchase the tabloid from its current owner, American Media Inc., adding that it was his belief that the Enquirer was not salvageable.
“When I stepped back and did the 50,000 foot-view and I really analyzed this, I don’t think there is any way — even if they gave the paper away — I don’t think it can be resurrected,” Pope told TheWrap. “All businesses are cyclical and sadly this is the end of the cycle. It’s time to kiss it goodbye.”
Pope, a Florida-based author and philanthropist, said his initial urge to buy back the magazine had been a “knee-jerk” response on behalf of his family legacy, before he ultimately concluded that declining circulation and lack of a digital strategy made the prospect unworkable.
Also Read: American Media Planning to Sell National Enquirer
“The online version is nothing,...
“When I stepped back and did the 50,000 foot-view and I really analyzed this, I don’t think there is any way — even if they gave the paper away — I don’t think it can be resurrected,” Pope told TheWrap. “All businesses are cyclical and sadly this is the end of the cycle. It’s time to kiss it goodbye.”
Pope, a Florida-based author and philanthropist, said his initial urge to buy back the magazine had been a “knee-jerk” response on behalf of his family legacy, before he ultimately concluded that declining circulation and lack of a digital strategy made the prospect unworkable.
Also Read: American Media Planning to Sell National Enquirer
“The online version is nothing,...
- 4/17/2019
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Does the National Enquirer have a future? As American Media Inc. looks for a buyer for the troubled supermarket tabloid, media experts offered sharply divergent assessments of whether the supermarket staple would ultimate be able to weather its current legal, financial and public relations troubles — and indeed if a buyer would emerge at all.
“I would rather pay money to someone to take it away from me, to save me from all the legal troubles,” Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism, told TheWrap. “I can list 100 reasons why nobody should buy the National Enquirer, but I cannot think of one reason why somebody should buy the National Enquirer.”
Peter Kreisky, a veteran media analyst, predicted that the tabloid was unlikely to survive another five years. “This is the beginning of the ultimate decline of it, unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of a hat,...
“I would rather pay money to someone to take it away from me, to save me from all the legal troubles,” Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi School of Journalism, told TheWrap. “I can list 100 reasons why nobody should buy the National Enquirer, but I cannot think of one reason why somebody should buy the National Enquirer.”
Peter Kreisky, a veteran media analyst, predicted that the tabloid was unlikely to survive another five years. “This is the beginning of the ultimate decline of it, unless somebody pulls a rabbit out of a hat,...
- 4/12/2019
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
The National Enquirer – the tabloid infamous for buying, then spiking, damaging stories about Donald Trump and reportedly keeping the evidence in a safe – is up for sale.
Anthony Melchiorre, the hedge fund manager who owns the controlling interest in Enquirer parent company Ami, has reportedly grown tired of the publication’s red ink and reporting tactics. The Enquirer has also been at the center of a maelstrom, after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos accused the publication of “extortion and blackmail” in February, in relation to the threatened publication of a private...
Anthony Melchiorre, the hedge fund manager who owns the controlling interest in Enquirer parent company Ami, has reportedly grown tired of the publication’s red ink and reporting tactics. The Enquirer has also been at the center of a maelstrom, after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos accused the publication of “extortion and blackmail” in February, in relation to the threatened publication of a private...
- 4/12/2019
- by Tim Dickinson
- Rollingstone.com
Spencer Mullen Apr 11, 2019
Avengers: Endgame, Jeff Bezos, Julian Assange, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Elon Musk and 2020 Presidential candidate Andrew Yang discussed automation on Twitter.
"In an interaction on Wednesday that only be described as “a lot of tweet,” 2020 long-shot presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who has made thwarting automation-related job displacement the focal point of his campaign, and Elon Musk exchanged ideas on Twitter about our soon-to-be-reality with A.I. technology. The first tweet, posted by Yang on Wednesday evening, detailed a recent competition held in China that pitted an A.I. system, BioMind A.I., against radiologists in a brain-tumor-diagnosing race. In both rounds, the A.I. system beat trained human professionals in both speed and accuracy. If you just thought, “Oh, yikes,” then you and Yang are very much on the same page."
Read more at Inverse.
Here's why Iron Man should die in Avengers: Endgame.
Avengers: Endgame, Jeff Bezos, Julian Assange, and more in today's daily Link Tank!
Elon Musk and 2020 Presidential candidate Andrew Yang discussed automation on Twitter.
"In an interaction on Wednesday that only be described as “a lot of tweet,” 2020 long-shot presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who has made thwarting automation-related job displacement the focal point of his campaign, and Elon Musk exchanged ideas on Twitter about our soon-to-be-reality with A.I. technology. The first tweet, posted by Yang on Wednesday evening, detailed a recent competition held in China that pitted an A.I. system, BioMind A.I., against radiologists in a brain-tumor-diagnosing race. In both rounds, the A.I. system beat trained human professionals in both speed and accuracy. If you just thought, “Oh, yikes,” then you and Yang are very much on the same page."
Read more at Inverse.
Here's why Iron Man should die in Avengers: Endgame.
- 4/11/2019
- Den of Geek
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s private text messages may have been leaked by someone in close contact with them — and for a lot of money.
Sanchez’s brother Michael was allegedly paid $200,000 by the National Enquirer in exchange for racy text messages between the news anchor, 49, and the Amazon CEO, 55, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesperson for American Media Inc., the Enquirer‘s parent company, did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment. Michael, a Hollywood manager, did not immediately respond for comment.
In a February interview with Vanity Fair in...
Sanchez’s brother Michael was allegedly paid $200,000 by the National Enquirer in exchange for racy text messages between the news anchor, 49, and the Amazon CEO, 55, according to a new report by the Wall Street Journal.
A spokesperson for American Media Inc., the Enquirer‘s parent company, did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment. Michael, a Hollywood manager, did not immediately respond for comment.
In a February interview with Vanity Fair in...
- 3/19/2019
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
Jeff Bezos’ romantic texts messages to girlfriend Lauren Sanchez were leaked to the National Enquirer by her brother for $200,000, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
In an unusual deal, Michael Sanchez handed over the messages in return for the that which he received in full, upfront last year, according to WSJ. His contract with the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc. (Ami), also gave him the right to shop the information elsewhere if the company didn’t run with the story after one month, the WSJ reported.
Reps for Ami declined to comment. Reps for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to TheWrap, Michael Sanchez called the WSJ reporting “disappointing” and refused to “dignify” the allegations.
As with the WSJ, Sanchez did not explicitly deny sending incriminating content relating to the Amazon boss to the Enquirer.
Also Read: Meet Gavin de Becker,...
In an unusual deal, Michael Sanchez handed over the messages in return for the that which he received in full, upfront last year, according to WSJ. His contract with the Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc. (Ami), also gave him the right to shop the information elsewhere if the company didn’t run with the story after one month, the WSJ reported.
Reps for Ami declined to comment. Reps for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to TheWrap, Michael Sanchez called the WSJ reporting “disappointing” and refused to “dignify” the allegations.
As with the WSJ, Sanchez did not explicitly deny sending incriminating content relating to the Amazon boss to the Enquirer.
Also Read: Meet Gavin de Becker,...
- 3/19/2019
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Lauren Sanchez‘s brother — one of the figures at the center of the ever-growing controversy over leaked intimate text messages between the news anchor and Jeff Bezos — claims his sister’s romance with the Amazon CEO is “legendary.”
While Lauren Sanchez and Bezos have not been seen together since they were spotted at Amazon’s Golden Globes after party, a separate source tells People the two are going strong.
Michael Sanchez, a talent manager and publicist, spoke about his sister’s relationship with Bezos, 55, in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Thursday. In it, he denies Bezos’ longtime security...
While Lauren Sanchez and Bezos have not been seen together since they were spotted at Amazon’s Golden Globes after party, a separate source tells People the two are going strong.
Michael Sanchez, a talent manager and publicist, spoke about his sister’s relationship with Bezos, 55, in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Thursday. In it, he denies Bezos’ longtime security...
- 2/15/2019
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
This week’s “SNL” cold open had exactly one topic it wanted to cover this week: Jeff Bezos’ penis.
The sketch was a parody of “Meet the Press,” with “SNL” cast member Kyle Mooney as Chuck Todd, with Kenan Thompson as Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, Cecily Strong as Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and Leslie Jones as former DNC chair Donna Brazile as the guests.
They of course went straight into the big topic of the moment — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ claim that David Pecker tried to use a nude selfie (aka a d— pic) as leverage in a blackmail scheme.
Mooney’s Todd opened the discussion by asking, simply, “What do you think Jeff Bezos’ penis is going to look like?” Strong said she figured it was “small potatoes” because all rich people have small penises.
“If it’s small and look’s funny, you better have the money,...
The sketch was a parody of “Meet the Press,” with “SNL” cast member Kyle Mooney as Chuck Todd, with Kenan Thompson as Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, Cecily Strong as Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and Leslie Jones as former DNC chair Donna Brazile as the guests.
They of course went straight into the big topic of the moment — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ claim that David Pecker tried to use a nude selfie (aka a d— pic) as leverage in a blackmail scheme.
Mooney’s Todd opened the discussion by asking, simply, “What do you think Jeff Bezos’ penis is going to look like?” Strong said she figured it was “small potatoes” because all rich people have small penises.
“If it’s small and look’s funny, you better have the money,...
- 2/10/2019
- by Phil Owen
- The Wrap
After a roller-coaster week in politics, including President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address, Saturday Night Live had an abundance of material for this weekend’s cold open. But before briefly touching on Trump’s speech, the show kicked off with a look at Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ skirmish with National Enquirer corporate boss David Pecker.
In a take on Meet the Press, the panelists debated the size and color of what Bezos’ penis might look like in nude pictures the tabloid reportedly obtained and used to blackmail the billionaire over his affair with former Los Angeles newscaster Lauren Sanchez.
While the Mtp panelists called the entire issue “a new low in journalism,” they couldn’t help but dissect the salacious story and the tabloid headlines it inspired.
“What do you think the coloration is like?” SNL castmember Kyle Mooney asked about Bezos’ manhood, in a turn as Mtp moderator Chuck Todd.
In a take on Meet the Press, the panelists debated the size and color of what Bezos’ penis might look like in nude pictures the tabloid reportedly obtained and used to blackmail the billionaire over his affair with former Los Angeles newscaster Lauren Sanchez.
While the Mtp panelists called the entire issue “a new low in journalism,” they couldn’t help but dissect the salacious story and the tabloid headlines it inspired.
“What do you think the coloration is like?” SNL castmember Kyle Mooney asked about Bezos’ manhood, in a turn as Mtp moderator Chuck Todd.
- 2/10/2019
- by Anita Bennett
- Deadline Film + TV
On Thursday, February 7th, in a post on Medium, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos published a series of emails from American Media Inc. (Ami), outlining what he called an “extortionate proposal.” Last month, The National Enquirer published intimate text messages exposing an affair between Bezos, who is married, and former TV anchor Lauren Sanchez. Shortly after, Bezos hired a private investigator to find out how the tabloid obtained the texts. Then, he claims, the company initiated contact and threatened to release even more texts and photos.
According to Bezos, Ami first...
According to Bezos, Ami first...
- 2/8/2019
- by Amelia McDonell-Parry
- Rollingstone.com
Update, 10:05 Am: The owners of the National Enquirer now have a bigger problem than a pissed off and fighting back Jeff Bezos – the feds.
Just a day after the Amazon founder published a detailed overview of the attempts by the David Pecker run tabloid to halt his investigation into how private texts and photos got into the Enquirer’s hands and headlines, parent company American Media Inc is now facing a new probe by prosecutors
Officials at the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York have begun looking into the strong-arming allegations against Pecker and Ami that Bezos unveiled on Thursday, sources have confirmed to Deadline.
The actions of “extortion and blackmail” that the world’s richest man described yesterday may constitute a violation of a deal the feds made late last year. granting Ami freedom from criminal prosecution. That agreement was in...
Just a day after the Amazon founder published a detailed overview of the attempts by the David Pecker run tabloid to halt his investigation into how private texts and photos got into the Enquirer’s hands and headlines, parent company American Media Inc is now facing a new probe by prosecutors
Officials at the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York have begun looking into the strong-arming allegations against Pecker and Ami that Bezos unveiled on Thursday, sources have confirmed to Deadline.
The actions of “extortion and blackmail” that the world’s richest man described yesterday may constitute a violation of a deal the feds made late last year. granting Ami freedom from criminal prosecution. That agreement was in...
- 2/8/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
On Thursday night, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, wrote a blog post accusing American Media Inc., of blackmail and extortion. Last month, the National Enquirer (owned by Ami) published a sprawling expose of Bezos’ affair with Lauren Sanchez, including salacious text messages, which ultimately led to the billionaire’s high-profile divorce. Bezos began to investigate how the Enquirer was able to obtain the text messages. The tabloid didn’t like this very much and, according to Bezos, threatened to release sensitive images, including nude photos of Bezos,...
- 2/8/2019
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Investigative reporter Ronan Farrow has claimed that the National Enquirer and its parent corporation American Media Inc. threatened him over his work, echoing complaints made earlier today by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
In a series of tweets, Farrow said American Media Inc., the National Enquirer parent, had sent him and “one other prominent journalist” a warning: “Stop digging or we’ll ruin you.”
Farrow wrote several stories on the Enquirer for The New Yorker, including some that claimed Ami chairman and CEO David Pecker killed stories that could damage President Donald Trump.
“I and at least one other prominent journalist involved in breaking stories about the National Enquirer’s arrangement with Trump fielded similar ‘stop digging or we’ll ruin you’ blackmail efforts from Ami,” Farrow tweeted. “(I did not engage as I don’t cut deals with subjects of ongoing reporting.)”
Farrow, also noted for his coverage of the Harvey Weinstein scandal,...
In a series of tweets, Farrow said American Media Inc., the National Enquirer parent, had sent him and “one other prominent journalist” a warning: “Stop digging or we’ll ruin you.”
Farrow wrote several stories on the Enquirer for The New Yorker, including some that claimed Ami chairman and CEO David Pecker killed stories that could damage President Donald Trump.
“I and at least one other prominent journalist involved in breaking stories about the National Enquirer’s arrangement with Trump fielded similar ‘stop digging or we’ll ruin you’ blackmail efforts from Ami,” Farrow tweeted. “(I did not engage as I don’t cut deals with subjects of ongoing reporting.)”
Farrow, also noted for his coverage of the Harvey Weinstein scandal,...
- 2/8/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Jeff Bezos is hitting back at the National Enquirer and its owner American Media Inc. alleging they attempted to blackmail and extort him by threatening to publish explicit photos of him and girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.
In a post on the website Medium, the 55-year-old Amazon CEO wrote: “Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.”
In a statement obtained by People, Ami said, “American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos. Further, at the...
In a post on the website Medium, the 55-year-old Amazon CEO wrote: “Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.”
In a statement obtained by People, Ami said, “American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos. Further, at the...
- 2/8/2019
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
After weeks of seeing his private life flooded into the public, Jeff Bezos went online today to accuse Donald Trump’s pals at the National Enquirer of attempting to strong arm him with intimate photos, texts and an intent to ruin him with Amazon shareholders.
“Any personal embarrassment Ami could cause me takes a back seat because there’s a much more important matter involved here,” the world’s richest man and owner of the Washington Post wrote, regarding National Enquirer parent company American Media’s desire to shut down the investigation Bezos has started of how information about his marriage and other personal affairs became public knowledge.
“If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?,” the Amazon founder wrote.
I’ve written a post about developments with the National Enquirer and its parent company, Ami. You can find it here: https://t.co/G1ykJAPPwy
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) February 7, 2019
Recounting that he’d been told American Media boss and Trump’s avowed “catch and kill” buddy David Pecker was “apoplectic” about the investigation into the leaked personal material, Bezos wrote of how proud he was to own the Washington Post and of the reporting it did – even if its probing journalism ruffled the likes of Trump and Pecker’s seemingly new pals the Saudi royal family. The latter of course are widely regarded to be behind the disappearance and brutal murder of contributing WaPo columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year in Turkey.
In a long and detailed blog post, the usually behind the boardroom Bezos also revealed how American Media has allegedly tried to force him to “capitulate to extortion and blackmail” in order to avoid further personal embarrassment and potential professional problems with his shareholders. Already having put investigator Gavin de Becker on the trail and brought Hollywood slugger Marty Singer on as his attorney, the WaPo owner flipped the script today and threw the matter up for all to see and judge.
“In the Ami letters I’m making public, you will see the precise details of their extortionate proposal: They will publish the personal photos unless Gavin de Becker and I make the specific false public statement to the press that we ‘have no knowledge or basis for suggesting that Ami’s coverage was politically motivated or influenced by political forces,’ ” Bezos says, pulling back the curtain.
“If we do not agree to affirmatively publicize that specific lie, they say they’ll publish the photos, and quickly,” the billionaire declares. “And there’s an associated threat: They’ll keep the photos on hand and publish them in the future if we ever deviate from that lie.”
Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced earlier this year that they are divorcing in what now was clearly an effort to blunt that news and other details of their lives emerging in the Enquirer. Regardless, in the past few weeks the tabloid has had a near endless stream of salacious stories about the exec’s relationship with Lauren Sanchez, the estranged wife of Wme co-chief Patrick Whitesell.
American Media did not respond to request for comment on Bezos’ accusations and revelations.
RelatedTom Hanks Narrates Super Bowl Ad For The Washington Post On Journalism’s Importance
Back on January 13, the former Celebrity Apprentice host did openly play his hand and took to social media to crow about Bezos’ obviously uncomfortable stint in the scandal spotlight:
So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
With Bezos now playing open offense, Pecker and the Enquirer could find themselves embroiled in more investigation from law enforcement.
Late last year, as the legal net was tightening around former Trump wingman Michael Cohen, the feds revealed that American Media had provided “substantial and important assistance” to them in their investigations of possible misconduct in the 2016 election.
In what was seen at the time as an effective blowing up of the tabloid’s so-called “catch and kill” strategy to bury stores that could reflected badly on Trump, Ami and CEO Pecker were granted freedom criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their role in paying off Playboy model Karen McDougal with $150,000 before the ballot box showdown with Hillary Clinton over two years ago.
Today’s revelations by Bezos may have inquiring minds at the U.S. Attorney’s office and more wanting to know.
“Any personal embarrassment Ami could cause me takes a back seat because there’s a much more important matter involved here,” the world’s richest man and owner of the Washington Post wrote, regarding National Enquirer parent company American Media’s desire to shut down the investigation Bezos has started of how information about his marriage and other personal affairs became public knowledge.
“If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?,” the Amazon founder wrote.
I’ve written a post about developments with the National Enquirer and its parent company, Ami. You can find it here: https://t.co/G1ykJAPPwy
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) February 7, 2019
Recounting that he’d been told American Media boss and Trump’s avowed “catch and kill” buddy David Pecker was “apoplectic” about the investigation into the leaked personal material, Bezos wrote of how proud he was to own the Washington Post and of the reporting it did – even if its probing journalism ruffled the likes of Trump and Pecker’s seemingly new pals the Saudi royal family. The latter of course are widely regarded to be behind the disappearance and brutal murder of contributing WaPo columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year in Turkey.
In a long and detailed blog post, the usually behind the boardroom Bezos also revealed how American Media has allegedly tried to force him to “capitulate to extortion and blackmail” in order to avoid further personal embarrassment and potential professional problems with his shareholders. Already having put investigator Gavin de Becker on the trail and brought Hollywood slugger Marty Singer on as his attorney, the WaPo owner flipped the script today and threw the matter up for all to see and judge.
“In the Ami letters I’m making public, you will see the precise details of their extortionate proposal: They will publish the personal photos unless Gavin de Becker and I make the specific false public statement to the press that we ‘have no knowledge or basis for suggesting that Ami’s coverage was politically motivated or influenced by political forces,’ ” Bezos says, pulling back the curtain.
“If we do not agree to affirmatively publicize that specific lie, they say they’ll publish the photos, and quickly,” the billionaire declares. “And there’s an associated threat: They’ll keep the photos on hand and publish them in the future if we ever deviate from that lie.”
Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced earlier this year that they are divorcing in what now was clearly an effort to blunt that news and other details of their lives emerging in the Enquirer. Regardless, in the past few weeks the tabloid has had a near endless stream of salacious stories about the exec’s relationship with Lauren Sanchez, the estranged wife of Wme co-chief Patrick Whitesell.
American Media did not respond to request for comment on Bezos’ accusations and revelations.
RelatedTom Hanks Narrates Super Bowl Ad For The Washington Post On Journalism’s Importance
Back on January 13, the former Celebrity Apprentice host did openly play his hand and took to social media to crow about Bezos’ obviously uncomfortable stint in the scandal spotlight:
So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019
With Bezos now playing open offense, Pecker and the Enquirer could find themselves embroiled in more investigation from law enforcement.
Late last year, as the legal net was tightening around former Trump wingman Michael Cohen, the feds revealed that American Media had provided “substantial and important assistance” to them in their investigations of possible misconduct in the 2016 election.
In what was seen at the time as an effective blowing up of the tabloid’s so-called “catch and kill” strategy to bury stores that could reflected badly on Trump, Ami and CEO Pecker were granted freedom criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their role in paying off Playboy model Karen McDougal with $150,000 before the ballot box showdown with Hillary Clinton over two years ago.
Today’s revelations by Bezos may have inquiring minds at the U.S. Attorney’s office and more wanting to know.
- 2/7/2019
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
New York Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg thinks the National Enquirer could be the “most powerful print publication in the United States,” and that the supermarket tabloid’s explosive pro-Trump coverage during the 2016 election was critical to the billionaire’s success in taking the Oval Office.
“It was the real-world embodiment of the fantasy online world of trolls — Russian and domestic — who polluted the political discourse,” Rutenberg said of the paper in his latest Mediator column. “From its perches at Publix and Safeway, it was often doing the same job as Alex Jones, of the conspiracy site Infowars, and the more strident Trump campaign surrogates on Twitter and Facebook.”
The Times critic also cited the Enquirer’s recent admission that it worked directly with Trump in 2016 to pay off porn star Karen McDougal and kill a story about her having an extramarital affair with the real estate developer (something Trump has denied.
“It was the real-world embodiment of the fantasy online world of trolls — Russian and domestic — who polluted the political discourse,” Rutenberg said of the paper in his latest Mediator column. “From its perches at Publix and Safeway, it was often doing the same job as Alex Jones, of the conspiracy site Infowars, and the more strident Trump campaign surrogates on Twitter and Facebook.”
The Times critic also cited the Enquirer’s recent admission that it worked directly with Trump in 2016 to pay off porn star Karen McDougal and kill a story about her having an extramarital affair with the real estate developer (something Trump has denied.
- 12/17/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
President Donald Trump is lying about Russia, his former fixer Michael Cohen told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos this morning on Good Morning America. [Watch video above, and more below.]
Trump ordered hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal weeks before the election, knowing it was illegal, because he worried their allegations of affairs with the developer/NBC reality-tv star would impact the election, Cohen said.
Yesterday, Trump insisted during a Fox News Channel interview that he never directed Cohen to do anything “wrong.”
“I don’t think there’s anybody that believes that,” Cohen scoffed this morning when Stephanopoulos brought it up.
“First of all, nothing at the Trump Organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr. Trump,” Cohen explained.
“He directed me…to make the payments. He directed me to become involved in these matters.”
Asked if Trump knew those payments were “wrong,” Cohen answered “of course.”
Asked if Trump did so “to help his election,...
Trump ordered hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal weeks before the election, knowing it was illegal, because he worried their allegations of affairs with the developer/NBC reality-tv star would impact the election, Cohen said.
Yesterday, Trump insisted during a Fox News Channel interview that he never directed Cohen to do anything “wrong.”
“I don’t think there’s anybody that believes that,” Cohen scoffed this morning when Stephanopoulos brought it up.
“First of all, nothing at the Trump Organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr. Trump,” Cohen explained.
“He directed me…to make the payments. He directed me to become involved in these matters.”
Asked if Trump knew those payments were “wrong,” Cohen answered “of course.”
Asked if Trump did so “to help his election,...
- 12/14/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
It was Friday’s most highly anticipated TV event. No, not the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Christmas special, but George Stephanopoulos‘ sit-down with President Trump’s former attorney and personal fixer Michael Cohen.
The conversation, filmed on Thursday, marked Cohen’s first TV interview since he was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes involving campaign finance and lying to Congress. What follows are excerpts from the Q&A, in which Cohen insisted that he should not be the only one to take responsibility for President Trump’s “dirty deeds.”
On President Trump’s inability to tell the truth:...
The conversation, filmed on Thursday, marked Cohen’s first TV interview since he was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes involving campaign finance and lying to Congress. What follows are excerpts from the Q&A, in which Cohen insisted that he should not be the only one to take responsibility for President Trump’s “dirty deeds.”
On President Trump’s inability to tell the truth:...
- 12/14/2018
- TVLine.com
It’s been obvious for months that President Trump was lying when he said he did not direct Michael Cohen to make hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal prior to the 2016 election. On Thursday morning, he essentially admitted it, tweeting that the responsibility would have fallen on his former lawyer-fixer, not himself, to determine whether the payments were legal. “I never directed Michael Cohen to break the law,” Trump wrote. “He was a lawyer and he is supposed to know the law. It is called ‘advice of counsel,...
- 12/13/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday morning. At the center of the charges against the president’s former lawyer-fixer were two payments made in the months leading up to the 2016 election. One was a $130,000 payment Cohen made to Stormy Daniels, with whom Trump allegedly had an affair. The other was a $150,000 payment Cohen arranged for American Media, Inc. to make to Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal so that the story of her alleged affair with Trump wouldn’t go public.
It may seem obvious that these payments...
It may seem obvious that these payments...
- 12/12/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
The three years in prison that Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen received today wasn’t the only bad press the increasingly besieged former Celebrity Apprentice host was handed.
The feds also revealed Wednesday that the owners of the National Enquirer have provided “substantial and important assistance” to them in their investigations.
With the effective burial of the American Media Inc publication’s so-called “catch and kill” strategy to bury stores that could have adversely affected Trump, the company and CEO David Pecker were granted freedom criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their role in paying Playboy model Karen McDougal off with $150,000 before the 2016 election.
“Ami further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,” the U.S. Attorney’s office added announcing the...
The feds also revealed Wednesday that the owners of the National Enquirer have provided “substantial and important assistance” to them in their investigations.
With the effective burial of the American Media Inc publication’s so-called “catch and kill” strategy to bury stores that could have adversely affected Trump, the company and CEO David Pecker were granted freedom criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their role in paying Playboy model Karen McDougal off with $150,000 before the 2016 election.
“Ami further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,” the U.S. Attorney’s office added announcing the...
- 12/12/2018
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
The National Enquirer resumed tweeting on Tuesday after going quiet for just over four days on the social media platform.
The 87-hour Twitter freeze ended just after noon Et, shortly after TheWrap reached out to a rep for parent company American Media for comment. A rep for the company did not respond to multiple inquiries about the matter.
Other Ami outlets, including the celebrity magazine Us Weekly, did not suspend their Twitter activity over the weekend.
Also Read: Michael B Jordan on Why He's Taking a 'Color-Blind' Approach to Choosing New Roles
The supermarket tabloid — which has been in financial distress in recent years — is not the only major media property to have gone dark in recent days.
The Twitter accounts of both Fox News and Fox Business stopped tweeting to their 18 million-plus Twitter followers on Nov. 9. It’s unclear the reason for the blackout.
A rep for Fox News declined to comment.
The 87-hour Twitter freeze ended just after noon Et, shortly after TheWrap reached out to a rep for parent company American Media for comment. A rep for the company did not respond to multiple inquiries about the matter.
Other Ami outlets, including the celebrity magazine Us Weekly, did not suspend their Twitter activity over the weekend.
Also Read: Michael B Jordan on Why He's Taking a 'Color-Blind' Approach to Choosing New Roles
The supermarket tabloid — which has been in financial distress in recent years — is not the only major media property to have gone dark in recent days.
The Twitter accounts of both Fox News and Fox Business stopped tweeting to their 18 million-plus Twitter followers on Nov. 9. It’s unclear the reason for the blackout.
A rep for Fox News declined to comment.
- 11/13/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Tom Arnold hasn’t given up his quest to uncover incriminating evidence against Donald Trump, but his Viceland series The Hunt for the Trump Tapes With Tom Arnold is over. A source said it was only ever intended as an eight-episode series.
But Arnold isn’t done. “I am not quitting until I get all the tapes or Trump resigns, which ever happens first,” he told Deadline. “Every day both things get closer to happening.”
Over the course of the show that premiered September 18, Arnold searched high and low for elusive videotapes allegedly showing Trump in all manner of compromising positions – from the infamous “pee tape” in a Moscow hotel room to an outtake on The Apprentice in which Trump allegedly used the N-word. Arnold hasn’t found the tapes yet, if they exist, but he hasn’t stopped looking.
“His search was fascinating and I loved it,” said Peter Woronov,...
But Arnold isn’t done. “I am not quitting until I get all the tapes or Trump resigns, which ever happens first,” he told Deadline. “Every day both things get closer to happening.”
Over the course of the show that premiered September 18, Arnold searched high and low for elusive videotapes allegedly showing Trump in all manner of compromising positions – from the infamous “pee tape” in a Moscow hotel room to an outtake on The Apprentice in which Trump allegedly used the N-word. Arnold hasn’t found the tapes yet, if they exist, but he hasn’t stopped looking.
“His search was fascinating and I loved it,” said Peter Woronov,...
- 10/23/2018
- by David Robb and Anita Busch
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Some 14 years after he took on the Bush Administration with Fahrenheit 9/11 and watched it become by far the highest grossing feature documentary of all time, Michael Moore tonight unveils Fahrenheit 11/9. More a companion piece than a sequel, the new film opens the Toronto International Film Festival’s Docs program tonight with its 8:45 Pm World Premiere at the Ryerson. It will U.S. premiere in Flint, Michigan on September 10 before opening on 1500 screens September 21 as the first release of Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment. The film so carries the spirit of yesterday’s New York Times Op-Ed, the one Trump labeled treasonous, that Moore could have written it.
In Fahrenheit 11/9, the Oscar-winning filmmaker begins throwing haymakers at the opening bell: he draws parallels between the rise of Hitler and Trump, the latter of whom he views as a great threat to democracy and whom he calls “the last president.
In Fahrenheit 11/9, the Oscar-winning filmmaker begins throwing haymakers at the opening bell: he draws parallels between the rise of Hitler and Trump, the latter of whom he views as a great threat to democracy and whom he calls “the last president.
- 9/6/2018
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
President Trump finds himself backed into a corner, wagging a fire poker at anyone or anything that dares cross him — the liberal media, his former lawyer-fixer, defenestrated White House aides, a dead senator. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation continues to gain strength with each passing week, and more and more members of Trump’s inner circle are reportedly cooperating with Mueller’s team and opening their respective vaults. (In the case of one of Trump’s New York Rich Guy Friends, David Pecker, there exists a literal vault...
- 8/31/2018
- by John Hendrickson
- Rollingstone.com
Late last month, CNN released a recording of then-candidate Donald Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen discussing a deal to acquire the rights to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal’s story of her alleged affair with the future president. Trump ally and National Enquirer owner David Pecker had purchased the story in August 2016 in an effort to bury — or “catch and kill” — the juicy piece of dirt on his longtime friend. But the McDougal story was only part of a trove of damaging Trump material possessed by Pecker. The Associated Press...
- 8/30/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
President Donald Trump floated the possibility of buying up decades of damaging stories on him held by The National Enquirer and his longtime ally David Pecker, the New York Times reported early Thursday morning.
Since the 1980s, the iconic tabloid owned by Pecker’s American Media has bought an unknown quantity of potentially damaging stories involving Trump in order to bury the news. The full extent of the haul is unknown, but one notable nugget includes an alleged affair with former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, who sold the rights to her story to Pecker for $150,000, according to reporting from Ronan Farrow.
According to the report by the Times’ Jim Rutenberg and Maggie Haberman, Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen began to get antsy about what might happen to the stories if Pecker were to ever leave the company.
Also Read: Trump Slams 'Rigged' Google for 'Suppressing Voices of Conservatives'
“Mr.
Since the 1980s, the iconic tabloid owned by Pecker’s American Media has bought an unknown quantity of potentially damaging stories involving Trump in order to bury the news. The full extent of the haul is unknown, but one notable nugget includes an alleged affair with former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, who sold the rights to her story to Pecker for $150,000, according to reporting from Ronan Farrow.
According to the report by the Times’ Jim Rutenberg and Maggie Haberman, Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen began to get antsy about what might happen to the stories if Pecker were to ever leave the company.
Also Read: Trump Slams 'Rigged' Google for 'Suppressing Voices of Conservatives'
“Mr.
- 8/30/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
It’s easy to lose track of all the corruption embedded within the Trump presidency. Every week brings a handful of new scandals, any one of which would be the biggest controversy of any other administration. Many of these happenings represent legitimate grounds for impeachment, if not the criminality of the president. For anyone struggling to keep up, Republicans have you covered. According to Axios, a spreadsheet outlining some of the investigations Democrats could launch should they take control of the House in November has been making its way through Capitol Hill.
- 8/27/2018
- by Ryan Bort
- Rollingstone.com
President Donald Trump’s really bad week has been a ratings bonanza for Rachel Maddow.
For a third night in a row, Maddow’s MSNBC program was highest rated across all of cable TV Thursday night. Her program averaged 3.674M viewers, 758K of them in the 25-54 year age bracket that news programs target.
Maddow’s third consecutive nightly win accompanied headlines that Trump’s longtime pal National Enquirer chief David Pecker had been given immunity in the investigation of Trump’s former personal lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen.
And, for a third consecutive night, MSNBC topped primetime cable news in both total viewers (2.869M) and in the news demographic (560K), besting Fnc, and CNN.
Five MSNBC programs ranked in the Top-10 in total viewers. In addition to Maddow, that included The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell at No. 3, No. 6-ranked All In with Chris Hayes, No. 8-ranked The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, and Hardball with Chris Matthews at No. 9.
In her 9 Pm timeslot, Maddow beat Fnc’s Hannity and CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time. Sean Hannity’s show was the night’s No. 2 ranked cable program in total viewers.
Other Fnc shows to make Thursday’s Top-10: Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle, and The Story.
For a third night in a row, Maddow’s MSNBC program was highest rated across all of cable TV Thursday night. Her program averaged 3.674M viewers, 758K of them in the 25-54 year age bracket that news programs target.
Maddow’s third consecutive nightly win accompanied headlines that Trump’s longtime pal National Enquirer chief David Pecker had been given immunity in the investigation of Trump’s former personal lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen.
And, for a third consecutive night, MSNBC topped primetime cable news in both total viewers (2.869M) and in the news demographic (560K), besting Fnc, and CNN.
Five MSNBC programs ranked in the Top-10 in total viewers. In addition to Maddow, that included The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell at No. 3, No. 6-ranked All In with Chris Hayes, No. 8-ranked The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, and Hardball with Chris Matthews at No. 9.
In her 9 Pm timeslot, Maddow beat Fnc’s Hannity and CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time. Sean Hannity’s show was the night’s No. 2 ranked cable program in total viewers.
Other Fnc shows to make Thursday’s Top-10: Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Ingraham Angle, and The Story.
- 8/24/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington — Life comes at you fast. A day after President Trump said on Fox News that it “almost ought to be illegal” for “flippers” to receive more lenient plea deals in exchange for testifying, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that Allen Weisselberg, a longtime top executive and chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was granted immunity by federal prosecutors.
The thinking is that Weisselberg would be free to provide information (if he hasn’t already) as part of the investigation into Trump’s former lawyer-fixer Michael Cohen...
The thinking is that Weisselberg would be free to provide information (if he hasn’t already) as part of the investigation into Trump’s former lawyer-fixer Michael Cohen...
- 8/24/2018
- by Andy Kroll
- Rollingstone.com
Allen Weisselberg, longtime Trump Organization CFO, is the latest Donald Trump associate reported to have received immunity to spill the beans.
Weisselberg was subpoenaed early this year to testify before a grand jury, according to the Wall Street Journal which broke the news.
Trump’s financial guy, the highest ranking Trump Org exec not named “Trump,” was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in New York to provide information about Michael Cohen in that criminal investigation. Cohen this week admitted he payed hush money to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, and coordinated National Enquirer’s catch-and-kill purchase of Karen McDougal story. Both women claim to have had an affair with Trump years before he became a candidate.
Weisselberg, said to be “Executive-1” in the Cohen court filings released this week, allegedly helped arrange the hush money.
When President Trump was elected, he handed off oversight of his org to his sons with Weisselberg.
Weisselberg was subpoenaed early this year to testify before a grand jury, according to the Wall Street Journal which broke the news.
Trump’s financial guy, the highest ranking Trump Org exec not named “Trump,” was granted immunity by federal prosecutors in New York to provide information about Michael Cohen in that criminal investigation. Cohen this week admitted he payed hush money to Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election, and coordinated National Enquirer’s catch-and-kill purchase of Karen McDougal story. Both women claim to have had an affair with Trump years before he became a candidate.
Weisselberg, said to be “Executive-1” in the Cohen court filings released this week, allegedly helped arrange the hush money.
When President Trump was elected, he handed off oversight of his org to his sons with Weisselberg.
- 8/24/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington — David Pecker, the CEO of American Media Inc., which is the publisher of the National Enquirer, has been granted immunity and is cooperating with federal prosecutors as part of the investigation of Michael Cohen and payments made to two women who claim to have had affairs with Donald Trump.
Vanity Fair reported on the immunity agreement, and it was confirmed by the New York Times and NBC News.
The court documents unsealed at the time of Cohen’s guilty plea earlier this week outline a pattern of cooperation between Ami and the Trump campaign starting in 2015. Prosecutors claim that Ami and the Enquirer tipped off the Trump campaign of potentially damaging stories. In the case of Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, Ami’s Dylan Howard arranged a $150,000 payment for her limited life rights. The purpose was to keep the story from getting published elsewhere,...
Vanity Fair reported on the immunity agreement, and it was confirmed by the New York Times and NBC News.
The court documents unsealed at the time of Cohen’s guilty plea earlier this week outline a pattern of cooperation between Ami and the Trump campaign starting in 2015. Prosecutors claim that Ami and the Enquirer tipped off the Trump campaign of potentially damaging stories. In the case of Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and 2007, Ami’s Dylan Howard arranged a $150,000 payment for her limited life rights. The purpose was to keep the story from getting published elsewhere,...
- 8/23/2018
- by Ted Johnson
- Variety Film + TV
Federal prosecutors granted immunity to David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer‘s publisher and a longtime Donald Trump pal, in the Michael Cohen investigation.
Back in June, Fox New reported that federal authorities had subpoenaed American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, for records related to its $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story alleging an affair with Trump. The payment was part of a catch-and-kill scheme to bury her story in advance of the 2016 election.
Pecker was granted immunity in the investigation of Cohen’s dealings in that catch-and-kill scheme as well as the hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who also claims she had an affair with Trump. Pecker met with prosecutors to describe Cohen’s involvement in the hush money schemes brokered ahead of the 2016 election, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
Cohen plead guilty to campaign finance violations,...
Back in June, Fox New reported that federal authorities had subpoenaed American Media, publisher of the National Enquirer, for records related to its $150,000 payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal for the rights to her story alleging an affair with Trump. The payment was part of a catch-and-kill scheme to bury her story in advance of the 2016 election.
Pecker was granted immunity in the investigation of Cohen’s dealings in that catch-and-kill scheme as well as the hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who also claims she had an affair with Trump. Pecker met with prosecutors to describe Cohen’s involvement in the hush money schemes brokered ahead of the 2016 election, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
Cohen plead guilty to campaign finance violations,...
- 8/23/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Washington — Michael Cohen’s guilty plea on Tuesday also pointed to something that was a factor in coverage of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — namely the laudatory publicity he got from the National Enquirer.
In indictment documents unsealed shortly after Cohen appeared at a New York federal court, prosecutors allege that the Enquirer and its parent company, American Media Inc., advised and assisted the Trump campaign in identifying potentially negative stories about the candidate.
The indictment does not name Ami or the Enquirer, but identify them as “corporation 1” and “magazine 1.” The publisher and the Enquirer have previously been identified in press accounts and court records related to payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claim to have had affairs with Trump. Those payments are the heart of the government’s claims that Cohen violated campaign finance laws. Cohen said in court that he was “directed” by Trump to do so.
In indictment documents unsealed shortly after Cohen appeared at a New York federal court, prosecutors allege that the Enquirer and its parent company, American Media Inc., advised and assisted the Trump campaign in identifying potentially negative stories about the candidate.
The indictment does not name Ami or the Enquirer, but identify them as “corporation 1” and “magazine 1.” The publisher and the Enquirer have previously been identified in press accounts and court records related to payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claim to have had affairs with Trump. Those payments are the heart of the government’s claims that Cohen violated campaign finance laws. Cohen said in court that he was “directed” by Trump to do so.
- 8/22/2018
- by Ted Johnson
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Arnold swears he’s gonna get to the bottom of this whole “Trump tapes” thing, even if he has to take unusual routes. That includes hitting up Peter Cottontail to find out what he’s got on Potus, in the first look at the actor’s new Viceland series, “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes.”
“I’m going to dig as deep as I have to, to expose the ugly truth about the ugly man,” Arnold says in the minute-long trailer.
Viceland’s new series “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold,” will see Arnold doing some “citizen journalism” to find out the truth behind the rumored recordings of Donald Trump. It will begin with Arnold’s appearance on the “Howard Stern Show” and continues to follow the comedian as he meets with figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penn Jillette, Judd Apatow and Rosie O’Donnell. And, apparently,...
“I’m going to dig as deep as I have to, to expose the ugly truth about the ugly man,” Arnold says in the minute-long trailer.
Viceland’s new series “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold,” will see Arnold doing some “citizen journalism” to find out the truth behind the rumored recordings of Donald Trump. It will begin with Arnold’s appearance on the “Howard Stern Show” and continues to follow the comedian as he meets with figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penn Jillette, Judd Apatow and Rosie O’Donnell. And, apparently,...
- 8/16/2018
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Tom Arnold is searching for the Donald Trump tapes — but he means more than just the infamous, alleged Trump “pee pee tapes.” For his new Viceland series “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes,” Arnold is issuing a challenge to “The Apprentice” executive producer Mark Burnett: Release the hours of tapes of Trump on set acting inappropriate.
“Mark Burnett does have a disc with every outtake of ‘The Apprentice,'” he said. “I’d like [Burnett] to stand up and say, ‘actually we had to cut out all the lies and sexual harassment, he’s not really that guy [you saw on the screen],'” Arnold said. “The real guy is this other guy.”
Arnold, who appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” and is familiar with how the production worked, said he’d like to have just one 12-hour day worth of footage from the 18 cameras that were used on the show.
“I want to show America that,...
“Mark Burnett does have a disc with every outtake of ‘The Apprentice,'” he said. “I’d like [Burnett] to stand up and say, ‘actually we had to cut out all the lies and sexual harassment, he’s not really that guy [you saw on the screen],'” Arnold said. “The real guy is this other guy.”
Arnold, who appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” and is familiar with how the production worked, said he’d like to have just one 12-hour day worth of footage from the 18 cameras that were used on the show.
“I want to show America that,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Viceland has slotted a September premiere date for its anticipated series The Hunt For The Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold, in which the titular comic actor takes his activism off Twitter and puts it into real life. The eight-episode series will debut with a double episode on Tuesday, September 18 at 10:30 Pm.
Described as All the President’s Men meets Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arnold tries his hand at “citizen journalism” in The Hunt, using his network of connections to search for the truth behind the many rumored, potentially damaging recordings of President Donald Trump.
The series begins with Arnold’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show where he asks Stern to release his many hours of Trump interviews and follows Arnold as he meets with his deep network of show business connections including Celebrity Apprentice vets Arnold Schwarzenegger and Penn Jillette, fellow comedian turned outspoken Twitter activist Judd Apatow, and...
Described as All the President’s Men meets Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arnold tries his hand at “citizen journalism” in The Hunt, using his network of connections to search for the truth behind the many rumored, potentially damaging recordings of President Donald Trump.
The series begins with Arnold’s appearance on The Howard Stern Show where he asks Stern to release his many hours of Trump interviews and follows Arnold as he meets with his deep network of show business connections including Celebrity Apprentice vets Arnold Schwarzenegger and Penn Jillette, fellow comedian turned outspoken Twitter activist Judd Apatow, and...
- 7/26/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Viceland’s new series “The Hunt for the Trump Tapes with Tom Arnold” will premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 10:30 p.m., it was announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association’s summer 2018 press tour.
The eight-episode series will see Arnold doing some “citizen journalism” to find out the truth behind the rumored recordings of Donald Trump. It will begin with Arnold’s appearance on the “Howard Stern Show” and continues to follow the comedian as he meets with figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penn Jillette, Judd Apatow and Rosie O’Donnell.
The show also reveals the frenzy of attention surrounding Arnold’s surprise meeting with Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, which took place earlier this summer in New York.
Also Read: 'Sharp Objects': Eliza Scanlen on Playing Amy Adams' 'Rebellious' Little Sister With 'Balls' (Video)
Arnold will also meet with veteran journalists like “The New Yorker” writer Jane Mayer,...
The eight-episode series will see Arnold doing some “citizen journalism” to find out the truth behind the rumored recordings of Donald Trump. It will begin with Arnold’s appearance on the “Howard Stern Show” and continues to follow the comedian as he meets with figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Penn Jillette, Judd Apatow and Rosie O’Donnell.
The show also reveals the frenzy of attention surrounding Arnold’s surprise meeting with Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, which took place earlier this summer in New York.
Also Read: 'Sharp Objects': Eliza Scanlen on Playing Amy Adams' 'Rebellious' Little Sister With 'Balls' (Video)
Arnold will also meet with veteran journalists like “The New Yorker” writer Jane Mayer,...
- 7/26/2018
- by Ashley Boucher
- The Wrap
For those who wondered how President Donald Trump would spin the Michael Cohen tape that seems to prove that Potus lied about having no knowledge of the Karen McDougal payoff, here’s how: It was doctored.
Really, we shoulda seen this one coming:
What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before? Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped – can this be so? Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018
On the 2016 recording, which was made secretly and played on CNN llast night, Trump’s then-lawyer Cohen is heard discussing the matter with him and brings up the “financing” of the payoff with then-candidate Trump, who asks, “What financing?” When Cohen says, “Well, I have to pay –,” Trump interrupts and says,...
Really, we shoulda seen this one coming:
What kind of a lawyer would tape a client? So sad! Is this a first, never heard of it before? Why was the tape so abruptly terminated (cut) while I was presumably saying positive things? I hear there are other clients and many reporters that are taped – can this be so? Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2018
On the 2016 recording, which was made secretly and played on CNN llast night, Trump’s then-lawyer Cohen is heard discussing the matter with him and brings up the “financing” of the payoff with then-candidate Trump, who asks, “What financing?” When Cohen says, “Well, I have to pay –,” Trump interrupts and says,...
- 7/25/2018
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
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