Tag Archives: David Pecker

Raw Story reports: Appearing on MSNBC on Saturday afternoon, Omarosa Manigault Newman claimed repeatedly that former National Enquirer CEO David Pecker maintained a safe where he stored stories and pictures that could be damaging to Donald Trump’s reputation. According to Manigault Newman, who also briefly worked in the Trump White House, Pecker used to employ a West Coast staffer named …

CNN reports: The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to an adult film star adjourned Monday without taking a vote on whether to indict Trump, a source familiar with the proceeding told CNN. The grand jury is next scheduled to meet on Wednesday. On Monday, it heard from David …

Politico reports: The firm that owns the National Enquirer has agreed to pay $187,500 to the Federal Election Commission to settle complaints that it unlawfully aided Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 by suppressing the story of an actress who said she had a sexual relationship with Trump. The FEC concluded that American Media Inc., now known as A360 Media …

“As each candidate was moving up, let’s say Marco Rubio, David Pecker would reach out to me and he would give me a list of things that he was intending to do in order to squash Ted Cruz’s or Marco Rubio’s rise, whoever was rising in the poll, that’s who became the person that we needed to knock out of …

The New York Post reports: David Pecker has pulled out of American Media for good. The 68-year-old media tycoon — whose 20-year reign as the owner of the National Enquirer got mired in scandals over “catch and kill” tactics to bury damaging stories about President Trump — has stepped down as chief executive. Pecker is exiting as part of a …

The Daily Beast reports: Financially strapped American Media Inc., which under the leadership of chief executive David Pecker weaponized the National Enquirer to serve Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and then acknowledged violating federal campaign laws by paying $150,000 in hush money to an alleged Trump mistress, is applying for a taxpayer-backed Paycheck Protection Program loan. On Tuesday, the company declined …

CNN reports: David Pecker, the head of the company that publishes the National Enquirer, has spoken with prosecutors with the New York district attorney’s office as part of its investigation into the Trump Organization’s handling of hush money payments to women who alleged affairs with President Donald Trump, sources with knowledge of the meeting tell CNN. The America Media Inc. …

The Washington Post reports: Ending an association between a longtime friend of President Trump and the tabloid that favored him during the 2016 election, American Media Inc. LLC (AMI) is selling the National Enquirer for $100 million to James Cohen, CEO of Hudson News. The supermarket tabloid, along with two sister publications, will be purchased by the head of the …

The New York Times reports: The owners of The National Enquirer are in talks to sell the tabloid to the California billionaire Ronald W. Burkle, according to two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations. An acquisition of The Enquirer by Mr. Burkle, a Democratic donor with close ties to President Bill Clinton, could raise eyebrows in Washington given President …

Bloomberg reports: The publisher of the National Enquirer, currently under attack by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has been facing steep financial losses that have left the once-loyal keeper of Donald Trump’s secrets with more than $1 billion in debt and a negative net worth. The closely held American Media Inc. — led by the president’s longtime friend, David Pecker …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The dust-up between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and National Enquirer parent American Media LLC has raised questions about the media company’s connections to Saudi Arabia. American Media has had plenty of contacts with Saudi Arabia in recent years, including seeking financial backing from Saudi investors to fund acquisitions and producing a magazine celebrating the country’s …

The Daily Beast reports: The brother of Jeff Bezos’ mistress, Lauren Sanchez, supplied the couple’s racy texts to the National Enquirer, multiple sources inside AMI, the tabloid’s parent company, told The Daily Beast. Another source who has been in extensive communication with senior leaders at AMI confirmed that Michael Sanchez first supplied Bezos’ texts to the Enquirer. As The Daily …

The Daily Beast reports: An attorney for the publisher of the National Enquirer says the person who leaked text messages between Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez is “well known” to both of them. In an appearance on ABC’s This Week Sunday morning, lawyer Elkan Abramowitz, who represents AMI chief executive David Pecker, also denied that a letter sent …

Mediaite reports: On Friday, Jerry George — who spent decades working at the National Enquirer including serving as senior editor and Los Angeles bureau chief — warned that his former boss, David Pecker may well land in jail. “I think there’s a very strong chance that David Pecker may end up doing time,” George said. “Wow!” host Erin Burnett replied …

Mediaite reports: Terry Crews joined Jeff Bezos and others in accusing American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, of extortion by threatening to publish scandalous stories in an attempt to silence. After Bezos accused AMI of blackmail — the Amazon founder published emails showing executives threatened to publish nude photos of him and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez …

Deadline reports: 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 …

Via press release: American Media, LLC today made the following statement in response to the statement made by Jeff Bezos regarding the National Enquirer. “American Media believes fervently that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of Mr. Bezos. Further, at the time of the recent allegations made by Mr. Bezos, it was in good faith negotiations to …

From a jaw-dropping Medium post by Jeff Bezos: Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual — it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. …

NBC News reports: Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump’s relationships with women, NBC News has confirmed. The “Statement of Admitted Facts” says that AMI admitted making a $150,000 payment “in concert with the …

Boing Boing reports: The U.S. Southern District of New York has reached a non-prosecution agreement with the parent company of the National Enquirer, AMI, in which the firm admits it made “catch and kill” hush money payment to Karen MacDougal “in concert with” the Donald Trump presidential campaign. Said the SDNY prosecutors, “AMI admitted that it made the $150,000 payment …