Story perspectives

Warren probes Amazon-MGM doc’s $10 M Melania payout

7/2/2026

Summary

Warren Opens Probe

Lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, opened a probe alleging the Amazon-MGM documentary deal bought influence over antitrust and tariff policy.
The documentary paid First Lady Melania Trump $10.71 million, $521,000 for her memoir and $6 million from NFTs, and Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million for rights and $35 million for marketing, with the film earning $16.6 million.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the deal was a normal business decision and denied political motive.

Summary

Trump Settlement Disclosure

U.S. President Donald Trump’s filing lists settlements $16 M from Disney/ABC and CBS, $24.5 M from Meta, $22 M from YouTube, and $8 M from X/Twitter.
He receives pensions of $77,808 (SAG) and $8,724 (AFTRA) and gifts of $50,000 Super Bowl, $7,000 UFC, and $25,000 U.S. Open tickets.
He planned to tender $102,000-$280,000 of Warner Bros. Discovery shares, within holdings valued $433,000-$995,000, and notes residual payments from appearances on ABC’s The View, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros.

History

Historical Context

Congress overhauled the Communications Act of 1934 with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the first major rewrite in almost 62 years, granting the FCC power to open telecom markets to competition. That deregulation reshaped the media landscape, prompting a federal Senate antitrust probe today by Elizabeth Warren into Amazon-MGM’s documentary deal.

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Warren Opens Probe

Lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, opened a probe alleging the Amazon-MGM documentary deal bought influence over antitrust and tariff policy.
The documentary paid First Lady Melania Trump $10.71 million, $521,000 for her memoir and $6 million from NFTs, and Amazon MGM Studios spent $40 million for rights and $35 million for marketing, with the film earning $16.6 million.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the deal was a normal business decision and denied political motive.

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