# National Enquirer tries to blackmail Bezos over Wash. Post stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 8, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145 "2019-02-08T00:08:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/41 "2019-02-08T12:14:26Z")
As if this whole thing we have today couldn’t get any more surreal, here they come, you have to hand it to Pecker and Dildo. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/42 "2019-02-08T12:53:43Z")
To summarize the linked legal opinions, it looks like the reason this might not be a crime is that the demand wasn’t for money, nor for anything with an easily-assigned monetary value. But Bezos could of course argue that point: The Post’s stock in trade is stories, and so publishing stories brings in income for the Post, and so ceasing to run a story would mean a decrease in the Post’s income. How successful Bezos’ lawyers would be at that argument is not known, of course, but they could certainly make it hard on Pecker. And of course there’s also the question of how Pecker obtained the compromat in the first place, which probably involved someone committing a crime. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/43 "2019-02-08T13:44:19Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > I think that you got a zero wrong there. 1000 \* $460M would be $460 billion, which appears to be a bit out of even Bezos’ range if his Wikipedia page is accurate. “You’re right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I’ll have to close this place in… 60 years.” ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/44 "2019-02-08T14:02:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > To summarize the linked legal opinions, it looks like the reason this might not be a crime is that the demand wasn’t for money, nor for anything with an easily-assigned monetary value. But Bezos could of course argue that point: The Post’s stock in trade is stories, and so publishing stories brings in income for the Post, and so ceasing to run a story would mean a decrease in the Post’s income. > > How successful Bezos’ lawyers would be at that argument is not known, of course, but they could certainly make it hard on Pecker. And of course there’s also the question of how Pecker obtained the compromat in the first place, which probably involved someone committing a crime. Nice thing about having $100+ billion at your disposal is you can spend $500,000,000 on lawyers to fight the issue… and you’ll still have $100+ billion afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/45 "2019-02-08T14:07:23Z")
Good plan boys. Going through a divorce really puts a man in a mellow, forgiving mood. I don’t see how trying to blackmail one of the worlds most powerful men in that mood could backfire at all. Carry on. Does anyone else feel this may have been standard practice at the Enquirer, to the point where they no longer differentiated between targets? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/46 "2019-02-08T14:11:23Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > …Does anyone else feel this may have been standard practice at the Enquirer, to the point where they no longer differentiated between targets? It wouldn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is that a kid walking down the street with a joint tucked behind his ear is breaking the law, but these yahoos might not be. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/47 "2019-02-08T14:14:32Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > Good plan boys. Going through a divorce really puts a man in a mellow, forgiving mood. I don’t see how trying to blackmail one of the worlds most powerful men in that mood could backfire at all. Carry on. > > Does anyone else feel this may have been standard practice at the Enquirer, to the point where they no longer differentiated between targets? Remember, they pulled this on Joe Scarborough and Mika Brez… of MSNBC, back in 2017. The National Enquirer threatened to reveal their relationship, so Joe and Mika went on the air and revealed their relationship. > **[Morning Joe co-hosts accuse White House of blackmail over tabloid story](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/30/mika-brzezinski-joe-scarborough-donald-trump)** > > Pair say Trump’s people said they could arrange for an unflattering story to be pulled – if they called Donald Trump to apologize for negative coverage ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/48 "2019-02-08T14:14:32Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > So far as criminal proceedings, from what I’m reading…it’s complicated. I’ll go ahead and copy/paste what I posted elsewhere on the Board Counterpoint: opinion piece on CNN wherein a former prosecutor argues that he would bring charges and thinks he could win. [(link)](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/opinions/bezos-ami-legal-opinion-honig/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/49 "2019-02-08T14:24:18Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Counterpoint: opinion piece on CNN wherein a former prosecutor argues that he would bring charges and thinks he could win. [(link)](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/opinions/bezos-ami-legal-opinion-honig/index.html) Well by now, if the public prosecutor responsible doesn’t prosecute, their spouse may have reasonable cause to suspect they are having an affair. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/50 "2019-02-08T14:44:52Z")
Yeah, I don’t buy the ‘terms of settlement’ argument. At all. Maybe that strategy works on somebody who can’t afford the legal fight, but I’m guessing Bezos will not be deterred. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/51 "2019-02-08T14:57:10Z")
> [@Grim\_Render](#): > > Good plan boys. Going through a divorce really puts a man in a mellow, forgiving mood. I don’t see how trying to blackmail one of the worlds most powerful men in that mood could backfire at all. Carry on. > > Does anyone else feel this may have been standard practice at the Enquirer, to the point where they no longer differentiated between targets? [tin foil hat time] Lindsey Graham is a strong possibility to have had this happen to him. From “Trump will destroy the GOP!” to “My Lips Are Orange!”, his change of heart may have been brought about by blackmail attempts by an entity which is known for blackmailing people on behalf of Trump. [/tin foil hat time] ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/52 "2019-02-08T14:59:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m not a lawyer, so can someone tell me, is the National Enquirer fucked? Pretty much. For one thing, their immunity arrangement for the illegal campaign contributions has a “go forth and sin no more” clause – engaging in blackmail means they lose the protection (but are still subject to prosecution based on the testimony and other information they coughed up) from that deal. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/53 "2019-02-08T15:02:29Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Counterpoint: opinion piece on CNN wherein a former prosecutor argues that he would bring charges and thinks he could win. [(link)](https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/08/opinions/bezos-ami-legal-opinion-honig/index.html) He thinks that it’s marginal and that he might be able to convince a jury. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/54 "2019-02-08T15:09:28Z")
[Some possible crimes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/08/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-accuses-national-enquirer-extortion-over-intimate-photos/?utm_term=.21eb1ec64fa7): > [@WaPo](#): > > Paul Cassell, a law professor at the University of Utah and a former federal judge, said in a phone interview that he believed it was possible the National Enquirer had committed a criminal offense. > > He said the potential crime would fall under statutes against blackmail — a threat to wrongfully expose a private fact in order to obtain a thing of value — or unlawful disclosure of an intimate image, which is commonly referred to as revenge porn. It also had the potential to involve federal charges, he said. > > “The modern formulation of the crime is anything of value — and the statement that the Enquirer was trying to obtain to preserve its reputation would seem to me to qualify as something of value in their business operations.” The “revenge porn” thing is obvious in retrospect. I’m curious about whether the laws as phrased cover this sort of behavior. If they don’t, almsot certainly they should. And the point about how they’re trying to preserve their reputation is pretty interesting as well. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/55 "2019-02-08T15:23:41Z")
Threatening to expose revenge porn as to quash investigation into a murder… Usually this stuff is used to get something of value - “give me $4 million and the pictures go away”, “If you continue to press this issue, we will have no recourse but to…”. And, if done right, can be legally hand-waved away. But this was done as to quash an investigation into a _murder_. And that, maybe… after all, I’m no expert here… that, maybe, will get more prosecutoral(sp?) interest than a typical extortion scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/56 "2019-02-08T15:29:48Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > What’s that old Arab proverb? The douche bag who is the enemy of the douche bag I don’t like is…not so much a douche bag. It’s a poetic language isn’t it? I know the Duke of Wellington’s classic response has been mentioned but another gem was from the UK satirical magazine “Private Eye” > [@](#): > > An unlikely piece of British legal history occurred in what is now referred to as the “case” of Arkell v. Pressdram (1971). > > The plaintiff was the subject of an article relating to illicit payments, and the magazine had ample evidence to back up the article. Arkell’s lawyers wrote a letter which concluded: “His attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of your reply.” > > The magazine’s response was, in full: "We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr J. Arkell. > > We note that Mr Arkell’s attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you would inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: fuck off." > > In the years following, the magazine would refer to this exchange as a euphemism for a blunt and coarse dismissal: for example, “We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/57 "2019-02-08T16:07:04Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Threatening to expose revenge porn as to quash investigation into a murder… > > Usually this stuff is used to get something of value - “give me $4 million and the pictures go away”, “If you continue to press this issue, we will have no recourse but to…”. And, if done right, can be legally hand-waved away. > > But this was done as to quash an investigation into a _murder_. And that, maybe… after all, I’m no expert here… that, maybe, will get more prosecutoral(sp?) interest than a typical extortion scheme. Our life has become a real-life fictional thriller book. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/58 "2019-02-08T16:16:26Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Our life has become a real-life fictional thriller book. John Grisham is no doubt negotiating the rights as we speak. * * * Having read both pro & con arguments provided up-thread (BTW, thanks fellas!) I’d say the chances of getting a criminal conviction are…murky. A good prosecutor can make the “broad definition of ‘property’” argument work, but a good defense attorney can throw shade on that with a strict “monetary only” interpretation. In the end I can see this going up the appeal chain, maybe even to SCOTUS, and by that point all bets are off. And if by chance AMI manages to skate on the criminal charges, Bezos can file a civil suit and _really_ turn the screws. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/59 "2019-02-08T16:16:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Our life has become a real-life fictional thriller book “…and then the Russian submarine commander joins the CIA, and rises in the ranks until he is the only ranking admin person when the meteor hits, and becomes President, when it is revealed that he was boinking Alex Trebek’s mom…” ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145/60 "2019-02-08T16:22:17Z")
I mean, it’s not like Trump has admitted on Twitter that he controls whether the blackmail stories get published in the National Enquirer. Oh, wait, [he did.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/880771685460344832) _“Watched low rated @Morning\_Joe for first time in long time. FAKE NEWS. He called me to stop a National Enquirer article. I said no! Bad show”_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/national-enquirer-tries-to-blackmail-bezos-over-wash-post-stories/829145.md?page=4)