Issues For National Enquirer Owner Increase As Others Allege Of Intimidation

Recently, the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos stirred up quite the storm when he openly accused the parent company of National Enquirer of blackmail and extortion. Following Bezos’ statement, several well-known figures in the field of journalism, along with a Hollywood star, came out in support of his stand and admitted to having been intimidated by the tabloid tycoon.

These allegations are likely to put the company American Media, along with its CEO David Pecker, under the scanner. Pecker is well-known as a seasoned ally of the American President, Donald Trump. Pecker has previously been accused of being involved in buying off controversial stories regarding Trump in order to sweep them under the carpet. This tactic is referred to as “catch and kill” in the media.

Ronan Farrow, who is a well-known investigative journalist, posted a tweet on Thursday night where he said that he, along with at least 1 more celebrated journalist, had received threatening messages from AMI after they reported on the story regarding the link between Trump and the National Enquirer. Farrow further clarified that he did not get involved in the matter as he does not compromise on the content of ongoing reporting.

Replying to Farrow’s Tweet, Ted Bridis admitted to having been warned by insiders that AMI had availed services of private investigators in order to delve into backgrounds of journalists probing into the link between the tabloid and the president. Bridis has previously served as the investigative editor of the Associated Press. Bridis also said that National Enquirer, AMI and their lawyers had tried to mute any public interest reports on the tabloid’s workings aligning with Trump’s interests.”

Dino Sajudin, who has previously served as a doorman at one of the buildings owned by Trump in New York, also brought forth a similar accusation. His lawyer, in a statement to NBC News, said that Sajudin had been threatened by people at AMI. They had also paid him a hefty amount of $30,000 to not reveal anything pertaining to the relationship between a Playboy Playmate and Trump. The agreement consisted of a penalty of $1 million penalty in case he spoke about it.