Concerns over fair play in the acquisition of the Melania Trump documentary have been troubling Amazon MGM Studios for quite some time now. According to reports, Amazon's film studio's agreement for first lady Melania Trump's documentary violated federal anti-bribery laws, prompting Democratic senators to look into the deal closely. The Studios paid $40 million for Melania and the docuseries that went with it, plus an additional $35 million for promotion. 

It made $7 million in its first weekend at the movie office despite receiving negative reviews and presenting little new information about the first lady. The math does not add up when one looks at the box office numbers and the sum paid for the Amazon acquisition. This has led to many Democratic leaders questioning the motives, including Elizabeth Warren.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has very specifically called out the deal for what it is in her latest outburst.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and other legislators urged Amazon to respond to inquiries about how the agreement came to be in a letter to CEO Andy Jassy dated March 15 that was exclusively shared with USA Today beforehand. Now, in her recent exclusive with Variety, she has laid it all straight for the world to know what she thinks about the deal.

Following the media reports of Amazon MGM's extravagant expenditures to secure a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is accusing Amazon MGM Studios of engaging in "bribery in plain sight." The studios, however, dispute that evaluation and insist it has done nothing out of the bounds of the law.

Warren noted the obvious that should have been noted by others, too. Amazon MGM's offer was $26 million more than Disney's, the next highest bidder for the documentary. Melania finished its theatrical run in January with $16.6 million at the box office worldwide. Although it is a great outcome for the genre, Amazon MGM won't be able to break even on the movie because theaters keep half of the ticket revenue. This is where doubts start to arise regarding Amazon MGM’s motives behind this deal, which is, of course, not profit.

“I’m Grateful to Everyone Who Watched”: Melania Trump Celebrates ‘MELANIA’ Reaching No. 1

Elizabeth Warren has already underlined the reasons for a higher bidding price for the documentary, which is a streaming success, by the way, in her March letter to the studios.

As already mentioned, Elizabeth Warren, along with other lawmakers, sent a letter to Amazon MGM asking them to explain their intentions behind this deal, as it does not make sense money-wise. Amazon's vulnerability under federal anti-bribery law is called into doubt based on the simple fact that it is requesting favorable treatment from the Trump Administration by paying a more-than-reasonable amount to acquire and promote the documentary about the Trump family.   

“When corporate giants .... transfer tens of millions of dollars to the family of a sitting President, that not only raises questions about corporate governance but also risks eroding public trust in the fairness of our economic and political systems," she said in the letter.

Amazon MGM has refuted these claims and maintained that they actively add a plethora of documentaries on the lives and deeds of famous political and historical figures to their library, and this deal was just a part of that initiative. Anyhow, Warren’s request to explain the studios’ three-times higher bid from the next bidder also seems logical, as this was a large sum to pay for a project that promised very little monetary benefit. Nonetheless, who is right between the two parties will only be known after a thorough investigation of the matter.   

Following ‘Melania’s’ Concerning Performance, Creators Promise a Second Installment This Summer on Streaming

What do you think went down in the deal between Amazon MGM, and Melania Trump? Share your thoughts.