Senator Elizabeth Warren is spearheading a congressional probe into Amazon’s $40 million purchase of First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary, seeking to determine if the technology company broke anti-bribery statutes in a bid to curry favor with the Trump administration.
The Democrat from Massachusetts, accompanied by Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia and three additional legislators, dispatched correspondence to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy requesting responses about the transaction by March 30. Central to the probe: why Amazon MGM Studios offered such an extraordinary amount for “Melania,” roughly $26 million beyond Disney, the second-highest bidder, rendering it among the priciest non-concert documentaries ever made.
The monetary obligation stretches well past the acquisition of rights. Amazon designated a $35 million promotional budget for the production, elevating the total expenditure to $75 million. Sector analysts have challenged the business logic underlying the offer, especially given that Amazon does not expect to recover its expenditure on the venture.
Around 70 percent of the $40 million compensation, approximately $28 million, will flow straight to Melania Trump. The documentary, which tracks the first lady during the weeks preceding President Trump’s second inauguration, brought in $7 million throughout its debut weekend, notwithstanding severe criticism from reviewers who characterized it as “favorable propaganda.” On Rotten Tomatoes, the production maintains merely an 11 percent critic score. The film eventually earned $16.7 million in total theatrical ticket sales.
To contextualize Amazon’s expenditure, the Oscar-winning documentary “Summer of Soul” was purchased by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu for north of $12 million in 2021—then regarded a record-breaking amount. Amazon’s compensation for “Melania” surpasses that number by more than threefold.
The legislators’ correspondence contends that Amazon has significant monetary interests in matters awaiting resolution before the Trump administration. The corporation recently resolved a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit regarding misleading Prime subscription practices in September 2025, consenting to remit $2.5 billion—including $1.5 billion in consumer refunds and a $1 billion civil penalty. Amazon also confronts another active FTC lawsuit charging unlawful monopolization of online retail, with trial expected in 2027.
“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.
Senator Warren went further in a public statement, saying: “Giant corporations shouldn’t be able to bribe their way out of paying taxes or fines they’ve been issued for breaking the law. If Amazon is bribing the Trump administration, the company and its executives should be subject to criminal penalties.”
The rapport between President Trump and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has markedly improved during Trump’s second term. Amazon contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Bezos attended the Jan. 20, 2025 swearing-in ceremony. The tech billionaire has made visible attempts to repair relations with Trump following years of public antagonism during the first administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Bezos’ Blue Origin space facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 2, 2026, as part of the Pentagon’s “Arsenal of Freedom” tour. Hegseth heaped praise on the space venture, telling Bezos, “Blue Origin is going to do plenty of winning.” The visit underscored the administration’s deepening ties with Bezos’s aerospace ambitions.
A separate dispute over tariffs was swiftly resolved after Trump personally intervened. When reports indicated Amazon was considering showing how Trump’s tariffs were affecting retail prices, the company quickly backed down. President Trump praised the outcome, calling Bezos a “good guy” who “solved the problem very quickly.”
The investigation letter, also signed by Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Representative Dan Goldman of New York, and Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, demands that Amazon explain the commercial rationale behind its investment. It also seeks all communications between the company, the Trumps, and administration officials related to the documentary.
Amazon has pushed back on bribery accusations, stating: “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it.”
Federal bribery law makes it illegal to offer anything of value to elected officials to influence official acts. The lawmakers have given Amazon until March 30 to respond to questions about its compliance framework for anti-bribery laws and all financial arrangements involved in the documentary production.
In a separate development, Bezos hosted Washington Post editors and reporters for a private lunch at his Washington, D.C. home on March 13, where he defended the acquisition. He told staff he was not personally involved in the “Melania” negotiations, denied the deal was an effort to curry favor with the Trump administration, and insisted the investment could still yield returns.
At his State of the Union address on Feb. 24, 2026, President Trump referred to his wife as a “movie star,” drawing attention to the documentary’s high-profile release. The investigation adds another layer of scrutiny to the growing ties between the Trump administration and major corporations seeking favorable regulatory and policy treatment.
