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Blackmail is a subterfuge here. They were negotiating, supposedly in good faith, it’s the terms that Bezos couldn’t swallow. They wanted him to stop his invest

Blackmail is a subterfuge here. They were negotiating, supposedly in good faith, it’s the terms that Bezos couldn’t swallow. They wanted him to stop his investigation and I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s going to find out where the leak came from and there may very well be crimes involved with that.

tw04 8y ago
I'm not sure in what world you can call this negotiation. It's literally the definition of blackmail/extortion in New York. https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-extortion-laws.html https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-extortio...
- pfortuny 8y ago
  And in any other place. A negotiation is for the good of both parties. Blackmail is just to stop one harming the other (and likely from a powerful standpoint).
- rjf72 8y ago
  I think this is one of the parts in law where you very much would need a specialized lawyer to begin to even grasp the law. There are too many confounding issues here. For instance I expect the paper will have some argument in the fact that publishing these sort of things is part of their regular work and benefits the 'public good'. How does this interact with the laws and what precedent has been set? If you take these laws at completely face value many things such as out of court monetary settlements would be bordering on illegal which is certainly not the case.
  - tw04 8y ago
    If publishing them is in the public good, then publish it. The second you reach out to the subject and threaten to publish unless they lie for you, that defense falls apart.
  - gamblor956 8y ago
    What matters is whether AMI actually has the undisputed right to publish them, i.e., such as if the pictures are a clear matter of the public interest. If, however, AMI's actions could be tortious (or criminal), then threatening to publish can be blackmail depending on what they specifically threaten and the quid pro quo. If AMI's actions would be tortious, then threatening to publish is blackmail regardless of what they specifically threaten or the quid pro quo.
dragonwriter 8y ago
Blackmail and extortion inherently always present as negotiation; it's what is offered and asked for in the negotiation, and the context around it, that makes the offense.
- travmatt 8y ago
  Bezos isn’t the only person they were ‘negotiating’ with, the investigative journalist Ronan Farrow maintains that he and another journalist were similarly approached by AMI with promises to not publish stories about them if they agreed to stop reporting on trump. https://www.thehill.com/homenews/media/429128-farrow-national-enquirer-company-tried-to-blackmail-me-on-trump-reporting https://www.thehill.com/homenews/media/429128-farrow-nationa...

tw04 8y ago

I'm not sure in what world you can call this negotiation. It's literally the definition of blackmail/extortion in New York. https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-extortion-laws.html https://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-extortio...

pfortuny 8y ago
And in any other place. A negotiation is for the good of both parties. Blackmail is just to stop one harming the other (and likely from a powerful standpoint).
rjf72 8y ago
I think this is one of the parts in law where you very much would need a specialized lawyer to begin to even grasp the law. There are too many confounding issues here. For instance I expect the paper will have some argument in the fact that publishing these sort of things is part of their regular work and benefits the 'public good'. How does this interact with the laws and what precedent has been set? If you take these laws at completely face value many things such as out of court monetary settlements would be bordering on illegal which is certainly not the case.
- tw04 8y ago
  If publishing them is in the public good, then publish it. The second you reach out to the subject and threaten to publish unless they lie for you, that defense falls apart.
- gamblor956 8y ago
  What matters is whether AMI actually has the undisputed right to publish them, i.e., such as if the pictures are a clear matter of the public interest. If, however, AMI's actions could be tortious (or criminal), then threatening to publish can be blackmail depending on what they specifically threaten and the quid pro quo. If AMI's actions would be tortious, then threatening to publish is blackmail regardless of what they specifically threaten or the quid pro quo.

dragonwriter 8y ago

Blackmail and extortion inherently always present as negotiation; it's what is offered and asked for in the negotiation, and the context around it, that makes the offense.

travmatt 8y ago
Bezos isn’t the only person they were ‘negotiating’ with, the investigative journalist Ronan Farrow maintains that he and another journalist were similarly approached by AMI with promises to not publish stories about them if they agreed to stop reporting on trump. https://www.thehill.com/homenews/media/429128-farrow-national-enquirer-company-tried-to-blackmail-me-on-trump-reporting https://www.thehill.com/homenews/media/429128-farrow-nationa...