good evening. for years people waiting on checkout lines in a newsstand have been drawn in by headlines from the nation enquirer. the weekly tabloid once known for celebrity gossip began playing an unlikely role in politics. >> the "national enquirer" is at the checkout aisle all across america. >> powered by its sensational articles, it has become one of the significant poply cases in

america. >> the readers are incredibly loyal to it. >> people have more of a fascination with this kind of stuff. detractors say the tabloid is ground zero for fake news. >> they sent me the $30,000 over the wire. >> this was a magazine that frankly, in many respects, should be very respected. >> donald trump's run for the white house inspired a whole new series of covers. >> donald trump weaponized the "national enquirer" in a way that hadn't been done. >> it's a perfect marriage. it is a marriage made in tabloid heaven. >> i think the game plan was for the "national enquirer" to serve as an unofficial propaganda outlet for president trump. >> but the enquirer made

headlines of its own when it went after jeff bezos. >> this is extortion. it is crime. >> "national enquirer" is in the shame business. >> when we look back at the history of the "national enquirer," we will look at this moment as the point at which the "national enquirer" began to have a profound influence on american politics. >> the prose is purple and it is sizzling by design. >> they have broken some serious stories that have affected people in the public eye. >> the tabloids seem to have a blind spot when it came to

donald trump. >> running for president, the "national enquirer" became very pertinent to endorse candidate trump as it never endorsed a candidate before. it went after his critics, both his critics in the republican primary like ted cruz and hillary clinton. trump's core supporters also happened to be readers of the "national enquirer." it is a heart land leadership. it's older leadership. it's a largely white leadership. >> look at all the fake news back there. >> i think people identify with trump, he sort of reinforced the notion that maybe the enquirer could be the voice for them. >> leading the effort, david pecker, ceo of american media inc. or ami. >> the trump era brought this very weird cast of characters

into power in america. i think david pecker is one of these characters. >> during the 2016 campaign, pecker appealed to trump supporters by highlighting positive stories about their candidate on the enquirer's pages and making sure they didn't see any negative words. >> he is getting the stories that would make donald trump look bad, and he is essentially and quite literally putting those stories in a vault. >> including one from a woman who alleged she had an affair with the future president. >> karen mcdougal, former playboy model had a relationship with trump allegedly. >> had a story about an extramarital affair come out, it would have been damaging to the trump campaign. >> although the white house denied the affair, ami would admit to paying mcdougal $150,000. >> in tabloid journalism, the

practice has a name, catch and kill. >> catch and kill in journalism is the concept that you would buy a story from someone and then own its rights so that you could choose to publish it or in the case of the "national enquirer," you would choose to not publish it. >> the president's former lawyer and fixer, michael cohen, told house investigators he worked directly with ami to protect his boss's reputation. >> did you practice this for the president? >> i was involved in several of these catch and kill episodes. >> federal investigators looked into the payments to kill stories constituted campaign finance violations. >> they should have been disclosed under our campaign finance laws, and they weren't. >> in order to avoid prosecution, ami agreed to tell federal prosecutors everything the enquirer had done to help

get trump elected. it also pledged not to commit any times during the deal. but four months later, the tabloid was back in the headlines. >> jeff bezos says the "national enquirer" and its owner are trying to blackmail him. >> all they had to do was keep their noises clean, and they got off with a slap on the hands. now they're back in the thick of it. >> it began with a january 2019 headline on the enquirer's front page. according to the story, jeff bezos was having an affair with lauren sanchez. >> that story contained texts and photographs that someone inside bezos' private world got their hands on. unlike most people, bezos had substantial resources, so he hired his own invest guy tors and decided to get to the bottom of the artle, who got the text and the photos to the "national

enquirer." >> in a candid blog post written a month after the expose, bezos went directly after pecker. >> and basically accuses david pecker and the "national enquirer" of trying to blackmail him and extort him. >> bezos said he was warned the enquirer had more embarrassing material, including nude photos, but would only release them if specific demands were met. >> they said we're going to publish these unless you come out and make this statement that our story about you was not politically motivated and you stop looking into how we got these photos. >> inquiring minds wanted to know: was this tabloid business as usual, or was there something else going on? the president's animosity towards jeff bezos is well known. he frequently tweeted accusations that bezos used his power and influence for

political gain. >> the washington post has broken significant stories about trump's relationship with russia, the workings of the trump administration and the white house, all of which trump would rather not see the light of day. >> adding to the injury, bezos's washington post employed jamal khassogi. >> i think the fact that the washington post aggressively pursued that story also didn't sit well with the saudis. so you have two powerful entities here who don't care for what jeff bezos is doing. >> the potential saudi link also extended to david pecker. >> in 2018 ami published 200,000 copies of this glossy magazine, glorified the saudi crown prince and stocked at chain stores all across the u.s. >> it wracked at walmart.

come here for your vacation, walmart shoppers. >> so let's chart it out. president of the united states can't stand the washington post and its leader jeff bezos. saudi arabia can't stand the washington post and its leader, jeff bezos. who are they both connected to? right in the middle of it, david pecker, american media inc. now we have america media inc trying to scandalize jeff bezos. >> could have serious ramifications for the tabloid. >> if federal prosecutors see this as a crime, that initial cooperation would get blown up and it exposes both pecker and ami to even possibly greater legal consequences. >> this is extortion. this is a crime. i think it very likely could be. >> coming up. >> i know where to go.

that's why he sold the story. it had nothing to do with politics at all. >> the "national enquirer" made its name by breaking the rules. >> we did a lot of unconventional things that nobody was doing. my father told people, do whatever you have to do. ] exactly, nothing. they're completely different people, that's why they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual. they'll only pay for what they need! [ gargling ] [ coins hitting the desk ] yes, and they could save a ton. you've done it again, limu. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ (v...especially when your easily distracted teenager has the car. the worst... at subaru, we're taking on distracted driving [ping]

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in one corner, you have got jeff bezos, the founder of amazon. in the other corner, you have got david pecker, the head of american media and the national inquire enquirer and a close friend of president trump. >> president trump's long-time friend, david pecker, has been accused of targeting the world's richest man. >> you could not write a better script. the problem is we don't know if the script is yet fact or fiction. >> trump and pecker first met in the 1990s. >> pecker is a brash magazine

executive who wants to challenge the status quo, sees himself as an outsider. donald trump same thing, brash real estate developer challenging the status quo, sees himself as on outsider. >> two native new yorkers, trump born in queens. pecker from the bronx. the big apple was plush with cash in the '90s driven by the stock market and a surging national economy. former senior vice president of corporate communications has worked in the entertainment industry for three decades. >> he's a very big-time in the city, a lot of clubs that people hung out certainly within the publishing industry because publishers were celebrities in new york in those days. >> david pecker's rise to the top of new york's publishing scene had humble roots. the son of a bricklayer, he worked as a brook keookkeeper w

father died when he was just 16. he focussed on the bottom line instead of the by line. >> he's not a news man. he doesn't have ink in his veins. >> pecker's knack earned him this position. the company behind car and driver, premier and elle. >> one of the most popular magazines that he launched when he was running the ship was called george. george was an idea of jfk jr. who was looking for a publishing partner and somehow or another got connected to pecker. >> george magazine was launched in 1995. shortly thereafter, pecker met donald j. trump, whose exploits were well covered by new york tabloids. >> they said about both of them that they want acceptance from

the establishment that they're also thumbing their noises at, so they become friends. they triek a business arrangement. >> their first venture together, trump style, a glossy magazine launched in 1997 promoting trump properties and the donald's signature style. >> that was a magazine that was to be distributed only at trump properties and trump resorts. >> you have got david pecker who sees donald trump as sort of aspirational figure. he likes the trump lifestyle. he likes the guilded office and the opulent wealth. you know, women on both arms. >> pecker clearly had access to what trump craved. as the relationship grew, they found value in each other. you know, you scratch my back. i'll scratch your back. >> i was fascinated by their concept for george. >> after overseeing magazines like george, elle and premier, in 1999 david pecker became

chairman and ceo of american media inc. >> the tabloids have the greatest distribution network for magazines. >> pecker now controlled the biggest tabloids in the country. star magazine, the globe and the crown jewel of american tabs, the "national enquirer." >> when david pecker came to the enquirer, he brought donald trump in as pretty much a silent editor. >> jerry george worked at the "national enquirer" for 28 years starting as a reporter in 1985. >> donald trump had been a regular feature in the enquirer. he lived an outrageous life, and he was well thinkier than god. we would do stories all the time on him and he would often cooperate. he would come to the phone and give you an interview. if he didn't like the story, he'd call and complain, but he'd

say, you know, next time give me a call and we can work together out. >> after decker took over, there was a drastic shift in the way the enquirer covered trump. >> we were no longer going to write negative stories on donald trump. so udenly there were no stories on affairs or trouble in the marriages. everything had a glow to it. >> it was common knowledge at the enquirer that being on daild pecker's good side could benefit a celebrity's career. >> sylvester stallone was another example of a friend of pecker. there were people who were known as being fops inside the "national enquirer." and those were people who you would not read negative stories about in the "national enquirer." >> trump, who was constantly planting positive stories about himself in the tabloids, pecker can do that for him. and what can trump give pecker?

entry into his world. can basically invite him into this world that pecker became very captivated by. it was a perfect marriage. >> pecker tightened his grip on the tabloid market in the late '90s, earning the nickname the bad boy of magazines. >> i am a very focussed person, and i have over the years have learned to respect the editorial and respect our reader. >> in 2004, donald trump took on a role that catapulted him on to an even bigger stage. >> i'm looking for "the apprentice". >> a big hit for nbc. after a series of well publicized business failures, it portrayed donald trump as a successful no nonsense businessman. >> you're fired. >> it was taught when the apprentice was at the top of the ratings created a different version where the competition would be editor of star magazine. >> although that show never

materialized, according to ami employees, trump and pecker seemed to grow closer, increasing trump's influence over the tabloids. >> donald trump is extremely manipulative in a good way. he's extremely charismatic and he can make you feel like you are the center of the world. >> coming up, will it push to the enquirer to ruin? >> my father would be turning over in the grave to see what his paper, what his creation, what his baby is being used for. discover.

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about eliquis. in the years before david pecker took control, the "national enquirer" mostly stayed out of partisan politics. anyone rich and famous could be fair game. >> the tone of the coverage is not political. it's just about do we have a really good, just juicy story? do we have something that readers will say, wow, i got to

read that. >> the stock and trade and formula for success was the exclusive and explosive celebrity scoop. >> the most important thing to my father was his baby, which was the editorial news room. >> paul david pope's father, gene, founded the enquirer in 1952. >> we did a lot of unconventi unconventional things that nobody was doing. people's garbage, following people. my father told people, do whatever you have to do to get the story. >> gene pope encouraged people to bend, if not break, traditional rules of journalism. this so-called last picture of elvis presley racked up 6.7 million copies sold in 1977. >> elvis in the coffin. you know, that was a pretty big get. and the reason they got that story and they have that kind of reputation is that the enquirer throughout its history has paid for sources. >> sometimes those sources are

the celebrity's pr, a body guard, an assistant, someone that knew them. my father had his fingers on the pulse. so he knew the picture of elvis in the coffin was going to be the thing. the way he achieved that was by sneaking a relative in with a tiny camera at the time. it was this big. >> the enquirer is the mother of checkbook journalism. but i think you get what you pay for. we were very successful in acquiring many, many scoops. >> gene pope came to the newspaper business through his father, a prosperous businessman that bought the nation's leading paper, in the process becoming a key figure in new york city politics. >> my father worked with his dad very close, how to influence things, how to make things happen. >> after a dispute following his

father's death, this 24-year-old was cut out of the family business. he bought the new york enquirer, a struggling weekly, retooling it as a tabloid. >> he later stumbled on a strategy to boost sales. >> he was driving home one day and he saw this horrific accident with a decapitated head and he had this epiphany. wow, this is what i need to do. >> for a long time, the "national enquirer" is car crash journalism, blood, guts, gore, the crazy things that were sensational and incendiary and you couldn't get away from. >> pope's next move is still considered a stroke of marketing genius. he placed the paper in eye level racks at super market checkout racks across the country, grabbing the attention of millions of american shoppers, a majority of them women. >> they are the people that wanted that hour of escapism

that the paper offered them. >> the "national enquirer" as we know it was born. >> by 1971, the paper's circulation grew to 5.9 million readers a week, one of the largest of any periodical in america. >> we just had the best reporters, the best writers. he had the greatest editorial staff i believe that existed at the time. >> i was hired by gene pope in 1985. his vision was to make reporters approach hollywood with a top reporter's eye. you know, the publicist would deny it. that's when you get to work. every story had a minimum of three sources and sometimes as many as eight. >> the enquirer was a publication i had a respect for as a gossip reporter, at least in my past, when they would get

the story, they really had it. >> the enquirer's reporting sometimes had the power to end careers. the miami herald wrote the story of an extramarital affair in may 1987. he denied he was having an affair with rice, but this photograph of them published by the enquirer four weeks later helped bury any chances the disgraced senator may have had to rhesesuscitate his political career. >> i refuse to submit my family and friends and innocent people and myself to further rumors and gossip. >> gary was the most gratifying time for my father. people realized we were an institution. if it was in the "national enquirer," it was true. the interesting thing is i don't even think he, today, he was alive with the impact that the enquirer had on our society and our wealth. >> over the next decade with donald trump's affairs and troubled marriages still regular

fodder for cover stories, the "national enquirer" was sold, first to a venture capital firm and then in 1999 to american media incorporated with david pecker at the helm. two years later with the country still reeling from the 9/11 attacks, strategy struck. >> federal officials back in this country said today that a florida man has contracted a very rare and potentially deadly form of anthrax. >> a phone call comes in. she says to me, we have a man dying of anthrax, we think, in one of our hospitals. >> frank, now an msnbc contributor, was the assistant special agent in charge of the fbi's miami field office. >> our sicientists began to develop a microscopic trail of

anthrax that ledto us to the ma room in that building. >> the anthrax was part of a cord rated attack. >> we're getting reports that it has been delivered to other iconic targets within the united states. the united states congress, nbc news, other post offices are now reporting findings of anthrax. and we're realizing that we are essentially under some form of bio logical attack. >> as the fbi scrambled to locate the center, tens of thousands of americans began taking antibiotics to protect themselves. the infection was confirmed in the people. of those 5 were killed, including an ami photo editor. >> by the time the fbi was done with this crime scene, it had become the largest hazardous materials crime scene in the history of the fbi. >> due to the risk of

contamination, very little of the nation"national enquirer"'s archives survived. >> they lost a lot of their own files, a lot of institution gnat knowledge that really rocked pecker's world. but it also drew attention to them again, right? they're part of the fabric of the country. >> former enquirer employees from that period have praised pecker's leadership. >> he's a really smart businessman. compassion is not a word i normally would use. yet, he did have a giving heart. pecker did respond very caringly about the employees. he made sure they were relocated to different places that were safe. >> the attacks brought together a cast of characters who would cross paths again more than a decade later around a different national dilemma. >> when all is said and done, somebody has to deckocontaminat every inch of that building. who does he reach out to?

a guy by the name of rudy giuliani and brand-new director of the fbi at this time, a guy named robert mueller. coming up, the enquirer's tactics help bring down another presidential hopeful. >> the story is false. >> the "national enquirer" is in the shaming business. shaming bu. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills don't. and all from a gentle mist you can barely feel. flonase sensimist. you can barely feel. prestige creams not living up to the hype? olay regenerist shatters the competition. big hype? big price? big deal! olay regenerist hydrates skin better than creams costing over $100, $200, and even $400. for skin that looks younger than it should. fact check this ad in good housekeeping. olay regenerist.

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i'm richard lui. the president announced in a tweet tonight that she will be leaving her post, replaced by customs and border protection commissioner. nielsen later followed up with a tweet of her own saying she had submitted her resignation. and acting white house chief of staff says democrats will never receive president trump's tax returns, calling efforts to retain them a political stunt.

back to headliners, revealed "national enquirer." the "national enquirer" has, for better or worse, redefined the landscape of professional journalism. under the leadership of david pecker, the tabloid possibly began having an impact on the country's politics. >> from the original monica and bill clinton affair. >> i believe the "national enquirer" is a journalistic enterprise. is it a credible one is the bigger question. >> pecker's vision of merging tab holoid and mainstream reporg was put to the test in october of 2007 when the series on former senator and one-time presidential front runner john edwards. >> whatever you think of the "national enquirer," there are hungry tabloid reporters who work there and who are trying to do real stories or, you know,

dig up dirt on personalities. >> the tabloid alleged that edward was having an affair while his wife battled kan ed c with a blaring headline, presidential cheating scandal. the story was vintage "national enquirer." >> it wasn't that john edwards was a democrat. it was they had a really, sexy, dirty story about a presidential candidate. and that was the sort of thing americans were going to read about. >> mainstream media largely ignored the reporting. and on the campaign trail, edwards denied the affair. >> the story is false. it is completely untrue. it is ridiculous. >> the subject of those rumors says she first met edwards in 2006, then working as a life coach. he says edward hired her to shoot a behind the scenes video for the campaign. >> i worked for john and fell in love with john. and then i stopped working for john, but our relationship continued. >> despite the lack of mainstream interest, the enquirer continued to pursue the

edwards story, digging into his relationship with hunter. >> i mean, the "national enquirer" is in the shaming business. they very much want to expose what you don't want exposed. and they do it in a very disruptive way. >> the "national enquirer" will stay hidden. like you will see a van, you know, far away with their window cracked open. and you're like, oh, my god, that could be the enquirer. and it turns out, oh, it is. they were relentless. they were the ones that never went away. >> running as a distant third in the democratic race behind hillary clinton and barack obama, edwards dropped out. >> it is time for me to step aside so that history can -- so that history can blaze its path. >> but the tabloid kept reporting on the story, tracking hunter throughout her pregnancy and even after she gave birth to edwards daughter. >> they absolutely felt like i

was in danger, our lives or my daughter was in danger. it was that feeling. it was a heightened sense of terror. it's really hard when you have a small child. i mean, that's -- you know, that's the hardest, because you want to keep her safe. you want to keep your kids safe. >> the even quiner published this photograph in august 2008, describing him as edwards with love child. the tabloids called it a spy photo. but hunter says she took the picture of edwards holding their daughter. >> i don't know if they came into the room. i don't know if they had some sort of technology that got it off of my computer. and i don't know if it was stolen from someone in my family or a friend and they purchased it from them. >> finally, ten months after the enquirer's initial expose, mainstream media picked up the story. >> now to fallout from that announcement from former presidential candidate john edwards. >> edward admitted to a liaison

with another woman. he gave an interview to abc's night line. >> first of all, it was short. it was a huge judgment -- mistake in judgment. but, yeah, i didn't think anyone would ever know about it. >> a lot of people are saying at that time because of the role it played, the enquirer should be nominated for a pulitzer. >> they were considered but never a finalist. it was certainly a surprising moment and a really high watermark for them. that was sort of the crowning glory of the "national enquirer"'s recent history. when you talk to people who were around that story at the time, it was definitely true. they used methods that would be frowned upon at a more mainstream or quote, unquote, respectable publication. coming up, in an exclusive

interview, a former trump world tower doorman with a salacious story about president trump said the "national enquirer" paid him to be quiet. >> i didn't know about that. i was surprised when the story went away. i was surprised when the story went away. great news, liberty mutual customizes... uh uh, i deliver the news around here. sources say liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. over to you, logo. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ grab those command picture hanging strips and let's make it work! they're tool free and they hold strong. or change your mind damage free. like a pro. command. do. no harm.

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our country needs a truly great leader. and we need a truly great leader now. >> in june 2015, donald trump announced the start of his presidential campaign. two months later, the candidate, his long-time fixer, michael cohen and ami chief executive david pecker sent in motion a plan to benefit trump's campaign. but the "national enquirer" shaping coverage to put trump in the best possible light. >> it was one of the ways that the trump campaign was able to gain a lot of attention and do some of its messaging outside of

the traditional sort of media realm. my reporting indicated that michael cohen was a really important contact for the enquirer. if they had a story about donald trump they would call in. he would give them stories about donald trump. there were cases when the presidential campaign really got going that the enquirer was sharing almost all of the coverage that it was doing on donald trump or his opponents with michael cohen prior to publication. >> you could track these covers. and seeing how the enquirer really became kind of like a promotional arm for the trump campaign. >> at the time, ami publically denied that poll sicitics influ editorial decisions during the campaign. but tactics like catch and kill indicated otherwise. almost a year before it helped kill karen mcdougal story, ami

sk squelched another story. a former trump tower doorman said ami paid him t$30,000 to sign over the rights to a store he heard about donald trump. >> i noticed donald trump come to the building. him and her were very friendly. she had an argument with the coworker. who says i will call mr. trump when you have an argument with somebody? and apparently, she did. >> he says after he made repeated complaints to superior's about the housekeeper's treatment of other staff, he was asked to resign from his job. but after he left, he says he could no longer find work as a doorman. >> weeks, months. turns out almost a year i

couldn't find a job. >> fearing he had been blacklisted, he contacted a reporter at the nation"national enquire enquirer", thinking the tabloid might be interested in buying his story about trump east alleged affair. >> he says, you get to like $30,000 and you will be referred to as an ex-trump employee. >> as a precondition of payment, ami asked him to sign over the rights to his story in perpetuity. the contract also stipulated that he would be subject to a million dollar lawsuit if he spoke about the rumor. >> i get phone calls on a regular basis that i could never speak about that story at all to anybody. >> according to his lawyer, ami released his client from the agreement after he retained counsel, allowing him to speak openly. by then his story had leaked to the press. in an april 2018 article in the new yorker, multiple sources at

ami said the enquirer bought the story as a favor to donald trump. ami issued a statement denying the claim. >> i did it to save my family. but i thought the story would have gotten out there. >> along with silencing negative stories, the "national enquirer" used their platform to knock down trump's opponents. >> donald trump weaponized the "national enquirer" in a way that had not been done. >> during the gop primaries, the enquirer ran a succession of false hit pieces on trump's rivals. a former political aid to the trump campaign. >> when dr. ben carson was a problem for donald trump, the nation "national enquirer" attacks ben carson. when marco rubio was going to be a problem for donald trump, marco rubio was attacked. and they are attacked in ways that really hit a gut punch.

>> this cover story about ted cruz implied that his father was involved in john f. kennedy's assassinati assassination. >> all i did is point out the fact that on the cover of the "national enquirer" there is a picture of him and crazy lee harvey oswald having breakfast. >> the enquirer appeared to save its heaviest ammunition for hillary clinton. the tabloid and its sister publication, the globe, ran 18 cover stories on clinton, making an avalanche of wild claims. everything from six months to live to hillary hitman tells all. a former communications adviser to the clinton campaign. >> there was no way this thing was going to be a clean fight. and it proved to be every bit as

disgusting a ining as everyone . >> there was a cover is that showed her as showing pale and . >> every time you see that headline that says hillary clinton has a health issue or ted cruz's father was involved in the assassination of jfk. over time that begins to grind away at you and can bring you to a place where you have doubts. by the time you go fo voting booth. >> his relationship with david pecker was stronger than ever. that would change. >> coming up. >> they have moved to a realm in which my opinion they are not to be given the benefit of the doubt of a news organization. >> there's nothing more valuable to prosecutors than david pecker.

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even after the election of donald trump, the "national enquirer" remained at best an uncritical defender. >> i think the game plan was for the "national enquirer" to serve as a unofficial propaganda out let. for president trump. >> whether that is going after critics or reenforcing the notion there's a deep state out to get president trump. >> the protrump philosophy was em bodied in a story alleging obama and clinton combined efforts to get the fbi to spy on the maverick republicans. >> my favorite. hilary and president obama wiring the trump penthouse.

and you can envision them with suction cups. scaling trump tower. to break in and literally wire the place. by themselves. >> ami appeared to be helping trump ally, saudi arabia. the publication of the new kingdom. the fawning tribute to the crowned prince raised questions about how they obtain financing. >> the attorney said they sought investment from saudi arabia. but weren't able to secure it. so he is saying they don't have direct investment but there's certainly people who wonder if there's some type of indirect investment. >> the legal issue is ami produced this magazine in tandem with the saudi government and have become a foreign agent. they are breaking the law. you need to register with the

federal. >> they deny this. or paid for it. the company faced potential legal. after a recording surfaced of then trump lawyer michael cohen and the future president reportedly discussing the enquirers efforts to catch and kill the story about trumps alleged affair with karen mcdougal. because they occurred during the 2016 campaign and could have influenced the election. they faced legal exposure for campaign finance violation. >> real legal jeopardy. that's why over the course of several mornts they make a decision to cooperate. with the prosecutor. there's nothing more valuable to prosecutors than somebody like david pecker. who the knows donald trump's secrets. >> even after making the deal with the government. the enquirer seemed aligned with the president. on january 21, it went after trump adversary in "washington post" owner jeff bezos.

>> i believe that david pecker is blinded by his admiration. for donald trump. look what i have for you now. mr. president. >> the intimate photographs and texts exchanged between bezos and sanchez were leaked by he brother. for a cost of $200,000. >> sanchez's brother named the leaker in reports. is now speaking out. >> in a new article in vanity fair. sanchez denies leaking racy below the belt selfies of bezos to the enquirer. >> he has long standing ties to people within the trump orbit. specifically roger stone. who is a master of the dark arts in trump land. >> the investigation tor hired by jeff bezos added another intriguing angle. saying lt billionaires phone was hacked into. by saudi intelligence. >> ami said michael sanchez was the sole source of the material

used in the bezos story. >> in the bigger picture. jeff bezos revealing blog exposing the enquirers tactics as well as pemers web of political a allegiance. seemed to gif him the upper power. >> if knowledge is power. he took the knowledge and gained the power. saying publicly i am having an affair. and i am being extorted by david pecker and his organization. what's behind this. >> ami declined to comment for the report. but snad a statement. that it believes that it acted lawfully in the reporting of the story of mr. bezos. hunter now raising the child she had with one time presidential hopeful edwards. bezos taking on the enquirer was empowering. >> what a genius move. owning his own without shame.

and exposing tactics. it shifts everything for everyone. he's my hero for doing that. >> when asked about the controversy, white house spokesman responded as if the mere mention of the "national enquirer" was below the dignity of the presidency. >> we're not getting into a conversation about something between jeff bezos and a tabloid magazine. >> after supporting donald trump. will the president's old ally the "national enquirer" ultimately be responsible for harming his legacy? enfiring minds want to know. >> we don't know yet whether there were other women. other stories that were made to disappear. by ami. were they doing that knowingly and helping trump to keep information from the voting public? >> if he was directly involved, in payments to silence his accusers. we will look back at the history

of the trump presidency and see the "national enquirer." as one of the most influential media companies in the history of the united states of america. are you all ready to make a ruckus? >> this is a seismic uprising >> she came out of nowhere. and took the capitol by storm. >> he's not in the capital. he's not in the floor of the senate and 800,000 people don't have their paychecks so, where's mitch? >> they're confused. they're bewildered by her. >> alexandria ocasio-cortez has riled critics on both sides of the aisle. >> sometimes we call her the architect of chaos. >> the president should not be asking for more money to an agency that has systemically violated human rights.