Overview
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Hank Johnson led a letter joined by other Democrats seeking records, communications and compliance materials about Amazon’s acquisition of the Melania Trump documentary.
- The inquiry centers on Amazon MGM’s reported $40 million rights payment and roughly $35 million in marketing, a bid said to exceed Disney’s offer by about $26 million and to send an estimated 70% to Melania Trump.
- Lawmakers frame their questions under federal anti-bribery law and ask whether Amazon discussed the deal with the first lady or any administration officials.
- The letter cites Amazon and Jeff Bezos’ stakes in administration decisions, pointing to an FTC antitrust suit, tariff considerations, federal contracting ties including a Blue Origin visit by the defense secretary, and a $1 million inauguration donation.
- Amazon has not provided substantive public answers to the letter’s questions; the company has previously said it licensed the film for customer appeal as the documentary, panned by critics after a $7 million opening weekend, is now streaming on Prime Video.