Rick Wilson's response to what Jeff Bezos did today

[highplainsdem]

Link to tweet

Jeff, this is excellent.

THIS is EXACTLY how one should handle threats of blackmail from thugs like Pecker and Trump.

Go right into the guns and take away the things they think will shame you and turn them into your weapons.

Bravo, man. Well played.

Link to tweet

Seriously. @JeffBezos just demonstrated the power of courage and transparency in a way that's more valuable in this era than you know.

[superpatriotman]

1. Rick, please change your political affiliation

So I can truly start championing your work!

[FakeNoose]

7. I know! I feel guilty that I like him so much

He sure sounds like one of us, doesn't he?

[superpatriotman]

11. No. Better.

His prose and fearlessness is unreal.

[czarjak]

13. Deep down...

He ain't.

[FakeNoose]

14. I know that! I read his book

Really enjoyed it, he's a snappy writer but yes he is a Repuke.

[NewJeffCT]

45. No, he is not

he's a great ally in the fight against Trump and authoritarianism, but if Trump is defeated and humiliated and run out of office and into jail, he will go back to being on the other side.

He jokingly said that the rumors of Kelly leaving as Chief of Staff surfaced that the CoS position needed to be filled by somebody Trump genuinely feared - Hillary Clinton. But, it was also partially because working for Trump would also destroy Clinton because ETTD - Everything Trump Touches Dies - in his view.

[cab67]

12. It's a matter of respecting integrity.

I can disagree with someone's political philosophy and still respect the person.

That's a big problem with the modern Republican Party. No integrity to speak of.

[leftynyc]

40. He has no integrity

He was responsible not only for the Willie Horton ad, he also was responsible for the Jerimiah Wright "G-ddamn America" ad. He's slime and don't let the fact he's anti-Trump fool you to believe otherwise.

[cab67]

47. appreciate the reminder

and apologize for the SMS episode.

(Selective Memory Syndrome.)

[leftynyc]

48. No apologies necessary

It's impossible to remember what ALL these republicans have been responsible for. I just happened to remember this one's name.

[JHB]

46. No, what we need is our own crop

Rick is one of the people who built what is now Trump's base. He did it to give conservative Republicans the margin of victory. He hates Trump because Donnie's drag racing on a road he built to be a conservative highway.

He's entertaining and has a sharp wit, but his goals and ours are worlds apart.

[CatMor]

2. Finally, someone with the courage to take them on.

Hope he destroys them.

[Gothmog]

3. This makes me smile

[monmouth4]

4. Anyone want to bet "The National Enquirer" will be gone by, oh I'd say March of this year? n/t

[csziggy]

17. I'm almost hoping that Bezos ends up owning everything AMI now owns

Including the National Enquirer. Either that or Pecker has to surrender all of AMI to Mueller.

[DeminPennswoods]

39. LOL! That would be the best revenge

Bezos has the money to do it, that's for sure.

[csziggy]

43. Since Pecker cost Bezos his marriage and threatened him further

Bezos might end up with a lot of AMI's value without paying for more than attorney fees.

Maybe let Mueller and Bezos split it in half - Mueller gets all AMI/Pecker's cash, Bezos gets the publications. For sure, Pecker and AMI should NEVER be allowed to own any publication ever again.

[watoos]

18. Except the Saudis are involved,

They are funding Pecker, he just bought out one of his competitors. There is more involved in this story than Trump. The Saudi prince wants Bezos to stop writing articles about his killing of Khashoggi.

[Honeycombe8]

22. Nah. Too many trashy people to read trashy articles about trashy things. nt

[customerserviceguy]

37. So true

That fishwrap that constantly mentions "Batboy" will just gain circulation figures. Why some people feel the need to read truly garbage "news" is beyond me.

[Boomer]

54. The National Enquirer is NOT the World Weekly News

National Enquirer is a sleazy gossip magazine that spills out salacious "secrets" of a dubious nature. In comparison, the WWN was fluff of a gentler nature -- made-up stories about Batboy and aliens.

[customerserviceguy]

55. Sorry I lumped them together

The last magazine I ever bought at a checkout counter was a TV Guide, and that was back when they actually had TV listings for the broadcast stations in my area.

[Cha]

5. Bravo!!

Link to tweet

[Nevilledog]

8. *snort*

[Dem2theMax]

9. Someone has a way with words.

[saidsimplesimon]

19. This gave me a laugh.

[Cha]

20. Yes, 'cause it's true!

[Ligyron]

26. Dick pics?

Who the hell does this anyway?

I never have in any of my relationships. Do women really appreciate getting pics of guy's dick's?

Do they ask for them (hell no) or do the guys just feel it necessary to let it all hang out?

Now boob pics...

[flibbitygiblets]

28. "Do women really appreciate getting pics of guy's dicks?" Once and for all, NO.

All I can figure is that some men are so obsessed with their junk that it's unimaginable to them that women wouldn't feel the same way.

Now that we have that out of the way, what AMI did was not only an act of sexual violation, it broke their agreement with the FBI to not commit any crimes for the next 3 years, as part of their agreement to avoid prosecution in the Trump/Cohen porn-star payoff.

So says Rachel on her show tonight.

[Ligyron]

31. Right, there's no way they will get away with this blackmail.

Or the theft and extortion. Or whatever the hell it is.

[MrGrieves]

44. WGAF what two consenting adults do?

What happens between two adults is nobody’s business so long as nobody is getting hurt and they are not doing anything illegal? Now I wouldn’t engage but I also wouldn’t judge either.

[Cha]

32. That's what I was thinking..

a little mystery, Please!

[customerserviceguy]

38. Once

I did get a request from a woman to send her a picture of my junk, so I went out into the garage.

She wanted Samson, she ended up getting Sanford and Son!

[womanofthehills]

6. more and more.........

Caroline Orr
? @RVAwonk
2h2 hours ago

The Saudi Arabia angle in the Jeff Bezos/David Pecker/National Enquirer story is very intriguing, and it seems highly likely that there's a whole lot more information about this, almost certainly involving the White House, that we don't yet know.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

10. I'm liking

Rick more as days go by ..

[Wounded Bear]

15. And with any luck it will ruin Pecker and the NE...

[NoMoreRepugs]

16. Seriously Peckerhead? You want to fuck with a guy

who has more money than most banks? You honestly thought you could intimidate him?

[saidsimplesimon]

21. highplainsdem, thanks for sharing the tweets.

Lawrence O 'Donnell covered this story tonight. Thank you Lawrence. I found this article on Vanity Fair after watching this segment.
Congratulations to Vanity Fair for another excellent scoop.

Looks like the walls are closing in on scum like David Pecker and his gang of extortionists.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/jeff-bezos-national-enquirer-ami-medium

JEFF BEZOS ACCUSES NATIONAL ENQUIRER OF TRYING TO BLACKMAIL HIM WITH NUDE PHOTOS
BY
BESS LEVIN
FEBRUARY 7, 2019 7:10 PM

The Amazon C.E.O. says the Trump-friendly publication threatened to release a “d--k pick” if he didn’t make a public statement that A.M.I. was never “politically motivated or influenced by political forces.”

According to Bezos’s post, his legal and investigatory team was approached by American Media Inc., publisher of The National Enquirer, with a demand to halt their investigation and tell the press they had “no knowledge or basis for suggesting that A.M.I.’s coverage was politically motivated or influenced by political forces.” And if Bezos refused? Well, A.M.I. would have no choice but to make certain photos, detailed by its “Chief Content Officer” in the e-mail below, public:

From: Howard, Dylan [[e-mail]] (Chief Content Officer, A.M.I.)
Sent: Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 3:33 P.M.
To: Martin Singer (litigation counsel for Mr. de Becker)
Subject: Jeff Bezos & Ms. Lauren Sanchez Photos
CONFIDENTIAL & NOT FOR DISTRIBIUTION [sic]
Marty:
I am leaving the office for the night. I will be available on my cell — 917 XXX-XXXX.
However, in the interests of expediating this situation, and with The Washington Post poised to publish unsubstantiated rumors of The National Enquirer’s initial report, I wanted to describe to you the photos obtained during our newsgathering.

In addition to the “below the belt selfie — otherwise colloquially known as a ‘d--k pick’” — the Enquirer obtained a further nine images. These include:
· Mr. Bezos face selfie at what appears to be a business meeting.
· Ms. Sanchez response — a photograph of her 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.
· A full-length body selfie of Mr. Bezos wearing just a pair of tight black boxer-briefs or trunks, with his phone in his left hand — while wearing his wedding ring.
· A selfie of Mr. Bezos fully clothed.
· A full-length scantily-clad body shot with short trunks.
· A naked selfie in a bathroom — while wearing his wedding ring. Mr. Bezos is wearing nothing but a white towel — and the top of his pubic region can be seen.
· Ms. Sanchez wearing a plunging red neckline dress revealing her cleavage and a glimpse of her nether region.
· Ms. Sanchez wearing a two-piece red bikini with gold detail dress revealing her cleavage.
It would give no editor pleasure to send this e-mail. I hope common sense can prevail — and quickly.
Dylan.
……more at link

[peggysue2]

24. Wow!

to Bezos for not bending over to this clear attempt to blackmail and embarrass. These people are mini-me mobsters. The only way to take them down is a very public rebuke like this, putting everything right out there and let them twist in the wind.

[mr_lebowski]

35. So, no 'dick pics', just very normal "I'm missing you at sexy time" photos btw lovers it sounds like

Good on you JB for telling 'em to get stuffed.

Edit: just re-read ... the colloquial 'dick pic' is probably actually just a nude selfie based on the rest of the shots.

And I'm sure there's SOME women in the world who would like one from their lover if they're sexting at that moment in time.

[Honeycombe8]

23. My estimation of Bezos went up 1,000% over the way he handled this.

I guess that's how he ended up creating Amazon. Making good judgment calls. This is great.

I'm not going to look at the pics, if they're published.

[PatSeg]

25. You have to be some kind of special stupid

to try and blackmail the richest man in the world. What on earth does he have to lose?

I've been very critical of Bezos in the past, but he has really redeemed himself in many ways this week.

[calimary]

27. Confront! Most of what you're dealing with is bluffing.

Especially from people who are used to bullying victims who are easily intimidated. Fighting back is something they don’t expect anybody to do. They expect their target to cower and cave and generally take a submissive position. That is exactly what NOT to do!

Remember, trump’s “patron saint,” the thank-God-he’s-DEAD ratfucker extraordinaire Roy Cohn, told his eager young follower to always fight. Always to hit back, and hit back HARDER. Why shouldn’t that same advice work for us, too? Besides, you KNOW trump isn’t expecting THAT!

[Charlotte Little]

29. Embarrassing to see...

...all the Rick Wilson worship.

Guys, WTF?

https://newrepublic.com/article/62900/doing-the-work-mccains-people-cant-or-wont-do

[ChubbyStar]

33. Sometimes Satan says the right thing

Embarrassing is for you to call it worship,

[Charlotte Little]

34. Heartening to see...

...you support Satan's spawns.

[ChubbyStar]

36. I never said that

You did.

[Captain Stern]

53. I guess I missed it. What Rick Wilson "worship"?

There are a handful of posts on this thread that express appreciation for what Wilson said. That's it.

In my opinion, that doesn't constitute "worship".

I think all of us are capable of appreciating a good thing that a person says, or does, even if they've said and/or done many bad things. Just as I think we are all capable of rightfully condemning a bad thing that a person says or does, even when they've said and/or done many good things.

[47of74]

30. You don't fornicate with someone who has more money than God.

Pecker is about to learn that the hard way.

[DinahMoeHum]

42. I can see a future headline ala Variety magazine. . .

>>>>>>>>>Pecker Screwed By Dick Pic Trick<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

[BlueJac]

49. K&R

[The Blue Flower]

50. "Sometimes Satan overplays his hand"

Quote from an old friend.

[Kurt V.]

51. my weekly opportunity for *i have no use for rick wilson*

[ZERTErYNOthe]

52. Bob Stevens

Remember when the AMI/National Enquirer photo editor Bob Stevens died from a targeted Anthrax attack?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Robert_Stevens

At the time the theory was he was targeted for embarrassing Bush and his underage daughters for their drunken exploits. Here is one link, can't find the exact one I'm looking for, hope another DU person can dig it up:

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/politics/its-another-wild-party-week-jenna/

Oddly enough, even though I copied that URL from the page I was viewing, clicking on that link from this post now goes to a different page.

Can anyone dig up the original post that was so controversial at the time? The one with the pictures of them falling down drunk?

In any case, at the time the consensus was that he was targeted (along with Tom Daschle and other unrelated people) because he had embarrassed the president and his family. I think this is relevant to the history and current behavior of AMI and David Pecker.

What does this mean? I'm not sure, except that this particular company, owner of many tabloids, has had an interesting history regarding our presidents and how they cover them.