I've read the fascinating book: "Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue" by Ryan Holiday.
https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Pe...r=8-1-fkmrnull
The subtitle of Mr. Holiday's book should have been: "It's Not Smart to Piss Off A Billionaire ..."
The dynamics of this tiff are eerily reminiscent of what went on between Peter Thiel and Nick Denton, the former publisher/owner of the (now defunct) Gawker Media. The only difference is that Mr. Pecker appears to be even more stupid than Mr. Denton. If Pecker actually goes through with his threat to publish those "embarrassing photos" of Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez, he will add [probable] civil liability to all the possible criminal charges. (The initial impression is that it looks like David Pecker has stepped into a steaming pile of cow poop.)
It will be a gold mine for the lawyers. Super lawyer David Bois is rumored to be working (or has been retained) by Mr. Bezos. Mr. Bois will presumably represent and advise Mr. Bezos in any civil litigation arising from this spectacle. If Mr. Pecker has done this with Trump's urging and encouragement, he may come to regret it as Bezos has the resources - and very likely the motivation - to destroy AMI and Pecker's tabloid rag. (I don't think it would bother Jeff Bezos to spend hundreds of millions - if not a billion - to financially crush David Pecker.)
Those "embarrassing photos" may appear somewhere, but I don't think it's going to be in the pages of the National Enquirer. Doing that would be roughly equivalent to Mr. Pecker putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger. (Since IANAL, it would be interesting to hear the opinions of some of our resident legal experts on where this is likely to go.)
I've been buying books and other "stuff" from Amazon.com since 1998. What Jeff Bezos has done by going public with these emails is a master stroke. Just like Nick Denton, David Pecker has made the fatal mistake of underestimating his opponent. Pecker made a big raise and got check raised. Now he has to decide whether to fold or go all in. (I love it!)