Sen. Elizabeth Warren is spearheading a congressional probe into Amazon’s $40 million purchase of First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary, seeking to determine whether the company violated anti-bribery statutes in an effort to gain favor with the Trump administration.
The Massachusetts senator, along with Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia and three other members of Congress, sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy asking for details about the transaction by March 30. Central to the investigation is why Amazon MGM Studios paid an unusually high amount for “Melania” — about $26 million more than Disney, the next top bidder — making it one of the priciest non-concert documentaries ever acquired.
The outlay went well beyond the purchase price. Amazon also earmarked $35 million for marketing, bringing the total outlay to $75 million. Industry analysts have questioned the business logic of the bid, especially since Amazon reportedly does not expect to recover the investment from the film.
About 70 percent of the $40 million, roughly $28 million, is slated to go directly to Melania Trump. The documentary, which documents the weeks leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, made $7 million in its opening weekend despite scathing reviews that called it “favorable propaganda.” On Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it just an 11 percent score. The film ultimately grossed $16.7 million at the box office.
For context, the Oscar-winning documentary “Summer of Soul” was acquired by Searchlight Pictures and Hulu for more than $12 million in 2021 — at the time seen as a record. Amazon’s payment for “Melania” exceeds that figure by more than three times.
The lawmakers’ letter contends that Amazon has significant financial interests in matters before the Trump administration. The company recently settled an FTC lawsuit over misleading Prime subscription practices in September 2025, agreeing to pay $2.5 billion — including $1.5 billion in consumer refunds and a $1 billion civil fine. Amazon is also defending another FTC suit accusing it of illegal 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.
Warren added in a public comment: “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.”
Ties between President Trump and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have noticeably improved during Trump’s second term. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Bezos attended the Jan. 20, 2025 swearing-in. The billionaire has taken visible steps to repair relations with Trump after years of hostility during the first administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Bezos’s Blue Origin facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Feb. 2, 2026, as part of the Pentagon’s “Arsenal of Freedom” tour. Hegseth praised the company, telling Bezos, “Blue Origin is going to do plenty of winning.” The trip highlighted growing connections between the administration and Bezos’s aerospace projects.
A separate tariff dispute was quickly settled after Trump intervened. When reports suggested Amazon might show how Trump’s tariffs were affecting retail prices, the company retreated. President Trump lauded the result, calling Bezos a “good guy” who “solved the problem very quickly.”
The investigation letter, also signed by Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, requests that Amazon justify the commercial reasons for its spending and provide all communications between the company, the Trumps, and administration officials related to the documentary.
Amazon has rejected the bribery allegations, stating: “We licensed the film for one reason and one reason only—because we think customers are going to love it.”
Federal bribery statutes prohibit offering anything of value to elected officials to influence their official actions. Lawmakers have given Amazon until March 30 to explain its anti-bribery compliance measures and disclose all financial arrangements tied to the documentary’s production.
Separately, Bezos hosted Washington Post editors and reporters for a private lunch at his Washington, D.C. residence on March 13, where he defended the acquisition. He said he was not personally involved in the “Melania” negotiations, denied the purchase was meant to curry favor with the Trump administration, and maintained the investment could still pay off.
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 prominent release. The probe adds further scrutiny to the expanding ties between the Trump administration and large corporations seeking favorable regulatory or policy outcomes.
