National Enquirer Insiders Confirm Michael Sanchez Leaked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Photos

It now appears president Donald Trump might have known of, or might have something to do with, the unlawful attempt to blackmail and smear billionaire Jeff Bezos as the National Enquirer threaten to publish stolen photos and texts of the Amazon founder and his girlfriend.

The latest twist in a saga that only began four days ago reveals that Michael Sanchez, brother of Lauren Sanchez, Bezos’ girlfriend, is the source of the sexually-charged photos from his sister’s phone the National Enquirer threatened to publish. This is according to sources inside AMI, The Daily Beast reports. AMI is the parent company of the National Enquirer. The tabloid infamous for sensationalism is owned by David Pecker, a close friend and business associate of Trump.

Media reports said Michael Sanchez works at Trump World Tower. It’s also known that Roger Stone, Trump’s close friend under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, has spoken highly of Sanchez.

“I do know Michael Sanchez -- very good guy,” said Stone in an interview with The Daily Beast.

The media organization also reported that Sanchez and Stone were in touch about the National Enquirer story. Sanchez is an unabashed Trump supporter, and once tweeted that:

“For anyone too stupid or too bitter to admit Mueller’s pack of @POTUS-hating @TheDemocrats is leading an out-of-control witch hunt, read about @jerome_corsi. 'Muellerism = McCarthyism.'”

Media also said Sanchez had heard from AMI staffers the tabloid was in the middle of “a takedown to make Trump happy.”

That operation intended to “make Trump happy” was the attempt to blackmail Bezos, which the latter decided to reveal to the world in a blog post entitled, “No thank you, Mr. Pecker,” on Feb. 7.

In his blog, Bezos accused Pecker of “extortion and blackmail” for threatening to publish intimate photos of him and Sanchez if Bezos didn’t stop his investigation into how his text messages and other photos have been leaked to the National Enquirer.

Among the intimate photos the Enquirer threatened to publish:

• A photograph of Sanchez “smoking a cigar in what appears to be a simulated oral sex scene.”
• A shirtless Mr. Bezos holding his phone in his left hand -- while wearing his wedding ring. He’s wearing either tight black cargo pants or shorts -- and his semi-erect manhood is penetrating the zipper of said garment.

After the Enquirer threatened to smear him, Bezos launched his own investigation into who leaked the photos. He hired a security consultant, Gavin de Becker, who apparently traced the leak to Michael Sanchez. De Becker also said the probe is over and the results will be turned over to the authorities.

Media said multiple sources are now confirming Michael Sanchez did indeed supply Bezos’ text to the National Enquirer. AMI previously refused to identify the source of the texts, but a lawyer for the company strongly hinted at Michael Sanchez’s role in a recent media interview.

AMI lawyer Elkan Abramowitz said the story “was given to the National Enquirer by a reliable source that had given information to the National Enquirer for seven years prior to this story. It was a source that was well known to both Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez.”

Abramowitz refused to categorically say Michael Sanchez was the source but the clues he left behind with his statement led to media investigations, and later confirmation, the leak was indeed Michael Sanchez.

For his part, Sanchez has adamantly declined to being the leak. The National Enquirer claims it didn’t engage in extortion or blackmail Bezos. Abramowitz also rejected the "Saudi angle" advanced by Bezos in his Feb. 7 blog post.

Bezos is a long-time foe of Trump. Bezos owns The Washington Post, which is often critical of Trump and his policies. Trump has spent a lot of Twitter time blasting both Bezos and the Post.