Dem lawmakers question Amazon on 'Melania' documentary

Dem lawmakers question Amazon on ‘Melania’ documentary

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) are calling on Amazon to answer questions about the “extraordinary sum” the company reportedly paid for Melania Trump’s documentary.

“Melania,” which premiered in theaters nationwide in February before streaming on Amazon Prime Video earlier this month, reportedly came with a $40 million price tag. An additional $35 million was shelled out by Amazon MGM Studios to promote the film, according to reports. Melania Trump served as an executive producer on the project.

In a letter sent to Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy this week, Warren and Johnson, along with Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), wrote that the “excessive price Amazon paid — and the fact that Amazon is not even expected to break even from its investment — have led many ‘to question whether ‘Melania’ was a box office gamble or bribe.'”

The Democratic lawmakers said Amazon should address “the serious concerns that its investment in ‘Melania’ was part of an apparent pay-to-play arrangement with the Trump Administration.” News of the letter was first reported by USA Today.

Amazon didn’t immediately return ITK’s request for comment.

The documentary, which focuses on the 20 days in the first lady’s world leading up to President Trump’s second inauguration, made a splashy debut at the Kennedy Center last month.

“I think in every scene they will see how I work, who I am, how I communicate with people and they will know me a bit more,” Melania Trump had said in an interview ahead of her film’s premiere.

In their letter, the lawmakers spotlighted what they described as “ways in which Amazon has appeared to curry favor with President Trump since the 2024 election.” They noted a $1 million donation from the media giant to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and “an unknown sum” given for the construction of a $300 million ballroom at the White House.

“If Amazon officials have made any donations or payments as part of a quid-pro-quo arrangement to influence President Trump or other Administration officials, the company may be in violation of federal bribery law,” the letter said.

The lawmakers requested responses to their questions — which include queries about how Amazon “approved the acquisition of the film and docuseries rights to ‘Melania,'” communications about the transaction and any financial arrangements related to it — by March 30.

© The Hill

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