GETTING SERIOUS

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to Meet With Prosecutors Over National Enquirer Extortion, Hacking Claims: CNN

Bezos and his associates have accused American Media Inc. of attempting to extort him and being in cahoots with Saudi Arabia.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is reportedly scheduled to meet with New York federal prosecutors about extortion and hacking claims that he and his associates have made against American Media Inc., CNN reports. In a blog post earlier this year, Bezos accused AMI—publisher of the National Enquirer—of attempting to extort him before the Enquirer ran a story about his alleged extramarital affair. Bezos's security consultant, Gavin de Becker, also accused AMI in a Daily Beast op-ed of being “in league” with Saudi Arabia after his team allegedly discovered that the Saudis had “access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information.” Prosecutors have reportedly been probing Bezos' extortion claim, and have yet to come to any conclusions. To investigate the hacking claims, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is reportedly seeking to gain access to Bezos's electronics and Bezos has been “in negotiations” with prosecutors. Matthew Schwartz, a lawyer for Bezos, did not respond to CNN's request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office and the FBI reportedly declined to comment.