Dec 9, 2019 - Technology

Amazon claims Trump improperly pressured Pentagon to deny cloud contract

Erica Pandey, author of @Work

Jeff Bezos. Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Amazon

Amazon Web Services — which is suing the Pentagon after it selected Microsoft for a massive cloud computing contract — has filed a complaint alleging that President Trump pressured the agency to keep the $10 billion JEDI contract from Amazon and Jeff Bezos.

The big picture: The contract has become a flash point between Amazon and Trump, who has singled out the tech giant and mentioned the JEDI contract in tweets and private conversations. The complaint alleges that Trump “launched repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks" to steer the contract away from "his perceived political enemy," Jeff Bezos.

The filing contends: “Rarely, if ever, has a President engaged in such a blatant and sustained effort to direct the outcome of a government procurement — let alone because of personal animus and political objectives.”
The Pentagon says it was not influenced by outside factors in its decision-making.

Read the filing.

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Updated 13 mins ago - Politics & Policy

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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of noon ET: 20,391,697 — Total deaths: 744,211— Total recoveries: 12,625,076 — Map.
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U.S. threatens to veto UN peacekeeping in Lebanon over Hezbollah concerns

Peacekeepers with Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon. Photo: Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty

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Trump congratulates QAnon conspiracy theorist on GOP runoff win

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

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