
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post (Photo: Twitter)
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, who is also a Democratic Party donor and controls a personal investment firm that owns the Washington Post, now has an army of 20 newspaper staffers to scour Donald Trump's life for any dirt they can find on the presumptive GOP nominee.
"There's a lot we don't know," Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward told the National Association of Realtors Convention in Washington on Wednesday. "We have 20 people working on Trump. We're going to do a book. We're doing articles about every phase of his life."
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Woodward specifically said he has been investigating Trump's real-estate deals in New York, according to a report in the Washington Examiner.
"The New York real-estate world is more complex than the CIA," he said.
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Bezos, a Seattle billionaire and the world's 19th wealthiest man, purchased the Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million.
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In February, Trump accused Bezos of buying the paper to increase his political influence.
"[Bezos] bought the Washington Post to have political influence, and I gotta tell you, we have a different country than we used to have. He wanted political influence so that Amazon will benefit from it – that's not right," Trump told supporters during a rally in Fort Worth, Texas. "And believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems. They're going to have such problems."
Later in the same speech, Trump said, "When they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money."
Watch Trump call out the mainstream media and Jeff Bezos:
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On Tuesday, the Post featured a story on Trump's sex talk with Howard Stern when the billionaire was a guest on his show between 1990 and 2005.
Trump reportedly told Stern he could have had sex with Princess Diana and would have bedded singer Mariah Carey.
"Although Trump promises to be 'more presidential,' his past statements have contributed to high negative ratings from women," the Post stated. "Democrats see Trump's history as a potent weapon to use against him and other Republicans this fall."
The paper continued, "The contrast between Trump's past and present behavior underscores the extent to which he has shaped and reshaped his identity as he has moved between business, entertainment and politics. And it points to a fundamental question about his candidacy: Which version of Trump might America send to the Oval Office?"
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Other recent Washington Post headlines include:
- "Trump and GOP leaders might never be on the same page"
- "Donald Trump is building a giant, beautiful wall between America and his tax returns"
- "Donald Trump has discovered one weird trick for getting people to agree with him"
- "Is Trump the last gasp of Reagan's Republican Party?"
- "Has Donald Trump stolen Paul Ryan's party out from under him?"
- "'They don't need the baggage:' White supremacist resigns as Trump delegate"
- "Donald Sterling, the 'girlfriend from hell,' and why Donald Trump distrusts the media"
As WND reported Tuesday, Bezos' online retailer, Amazon, is reportedly under pressure from shareholders to stop selling products associated with Trump. According to the New York Post, a group claiming to represent 1,500 Amazon shareholders has asked Bezos to end the site's marketing of Trump shirts, hats, ties and other products promoting the Trump campaign.
"This isn't about politics: Donald Trump's misogyny, racism and outright bigotry are dominating the political news cycle," shareholder group UltraViolet said in a letter to Bezos. The letter noted the continued presence of Donald Trump products "poses a risk to Amazon's reputation."
In his statement to the Washington convention, Woodward reportedly claimed the Washington Post is also seeking to get the "essence" of Hillary Clinton.
But Woodward dismissed any concern about Hillary's use of a private email server to send classified information, according to the Washington Examiner.
"I don't think anyone feels that there was intent on her part to distribute classified information in a way that was illegal or jeopardized security," he reportedly said.
The Post echoed that sentiment in a May 5 story headlined, "Officials: Scant evidence that Clinton had malicious intent in handling of emails."
However, Clinton's intent doesn't factor into the actual charges she could face. Statute 18 USC 793 focuses on “information respecting the national defense” that potentially “could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.” 793 (f) says it's a crime for anyone “entrusted with … any document … or information relating to the national defense … through gross negligence (to permit) the same to be removed from its proper place of custody.”
The Examiner reported, "[Woodward] said that Bezos has urged the Post to run as many stories on Trump and the other candidates so that voters can't say they didn't know about the eventual president."
Note: Those wishing to contact Amazon.com may do so here.
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