Senator Elizabeth Warren is leading an investigation into Amazon over its decision to acquire Melania Trump’s documentary. Warren has expressed concerns over it being a form of bribery to have the President on their side. This could mean that Amazon failed to comply with the federal anti-bribery laws.
Elizabeth Warren slams Melania Trump’s documentary
Senator Elizabeth Warren has expressed her concerns over Amazon acquiring Melania Trump’s documentary for a humongous $40 million, nearly $26 million more than the next highest bidder. Now, the Senator is leading an investigation into Amazon over concerns that its film studio’s deal was non-compliant with federal anti-bribery laws (via Telegram).
Warren, along with other lawmakers, has called on Amazon to explain their decision. Melania is the most expensive non-concert documentary of all time. Moreover, the film boasts a dismal critical rating, with some citing it as the worst documentary of the year so far.
In contrast, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), the Oscar-winning documentary, was bought for a then-record-breaking amount of over $12 million (via Variety).
Lawmakers want to find out if Amazon paid this extraordinary sum to have Donald Trump on their side.
“Amazon paid $40 MILLION for the rights to the Melania documentary—$26 million over the next highest bidder,” Warren wrote on her X account, “Why’d they overpay? Maybe because Amazon wants Trump to hand over a bunch of special favors.” She concluded, “Was the Melania movie one big bribe? We deserve answers.”
Interestingly, Trump and Bezos have grown closer in his second term. While Trump previously took aim at Bezos, the two seem to have no problem with each other anymore. At the start of his second term, Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, and Bezos attended Trump’s swearing-in.
The letter to Amazon further alleges that the company has financial stakes in decisions being made by the Trump administration.
Amazon and representatives for Melania Trump have not responded to USA Today’s request for comments yet.
