Elizabeth Warren Accuses Amazon MGM Studios of 'Committing Bribery in Plain Sight' After Spending $40 Million on 'Melania' Documentary

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has accused Amazon MGM Studios of committing "bribery in plain sight" in its multimillion-dollar deal for the highly lambasted documentary Melania.

The core of the accusation centers on the $40 million Amazon paid for the film's rights — a sum that lawmakers claim is roughly $26 million more than the next-highest bid.

In a March letter, Warren and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) launched an investigation into whether the deal was a "corrupt pay-to-play arrangement" aimed at gaining favor with the Trump administration.

“The fact that Amazon is seeking favorable treatment from the Trump Administration while paying a far-above-market sum to produce and promote the Trump family’s film raises questions about Amazon’s exposure under federal anti-bribery law,” the lawmakers wrote. “The American people deserve assurance that powerful corporations are not using their financial resources to gain political influence or favorable treatment at public expense — and that these corporations are not violating federal bribery laws.

Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the documentary's rights and an additional $35 million for marketing. Critics point out that documentaries rarely command such high prices; for comparison, the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul was acquired for a then-record $12 million.

Warren highlighted that roughly $28 million of the payment goes directly to the first lady, while Amazon and Jeff Bezos have significant financial stakes in pending federal decisions, such as antitrust lawsuits, tariff exemptions and defense contracts.

Amazon MGM Studios maintains that the decision was based on the film's "cultural and historical relevance" and was a "thorough and competitive bidding process." They asserted that they licensed the film because they believed customers would enjoy it.

According to critics and box-office numbers, customers did not enjoy it, as the “vapid” documentary has been widely reported as a significant commercial and critical failure.

Directed by problematic Hollywood outcast Brett Ratner, who saw his career disappear after credible allegations of rape and sexual abuse, the documentary saw a massive 67 percent drop in ticket sales during its second weekend, earning only $2.4 million.

Early reports indicated it had generated only $13.4 million in North America, falling far short of recouping its $40 million production cost and $35 million marketing budget.

The film received a 10 percent critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics referred to it as a "cheese ball infomercial" (Variety) and "insipid propaganda" (The Daily Beast).

The documentary has been cited as having one of the lowest ratings in IMDb history, with reports placing it at 1.3/10.

Warren isn't buying Amazon’s spin and said it reeked of desperation to please Melania’s husband.

“If there’s nothing corrupt about this deal and the bidding process was truly ‘competitive,’ why won’t Amazon explain why it reportedly paid three times as much as the next highest bidder?” Warren said in a new statement. “The logical explanation is that Amazon is trying to buy the President’s favor by dumping millions into the Trump family’s pockets. This looks like bribery in plain sight, and Amazon must give Congress — and the American people — answers now.”

Johnson agreed and added in new statement, “When we saw the oligarchs and tech bros gather in front-row seats at Trump’s second inauguration — some of whom gave him millions for his re-election campaign — it raised the specter that the rich and powerful were going to wield dangerous levels of power and influence on the nation through their largess to this transactional and corrupt president. Amazon’s ‘nothing-to-see-here’ response makes this fear even more of a reality. If there were truly nothing to see, then Amazon would have answered these basic questions.”