Amazon wants to depose Trump over $10B Pentagon contract
Amazon alleges Trump exerted 'improper pressure' to steer the contract away from Jeff Bezos
Amazon is seeking sworn testimony from President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper after the corporation missed out on a $10 billion Pentagon contract last year, according to court documents unsealed Monday.
Amazon Web Services alleges Trump is part of the reason why rival Microsoft won out instead.
Amazon blames "improper pressure from President Donald J. Trump, who launched repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks to steer the JEDI Contract away from [Amazon Web Services] to harm his perceived political enemy-Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder and CEO of AWS's parent company, Amazon.com, Inc.," in a court filing made public in December.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 201.70 | -0.91 | -0.45% |
JEDI stands for Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud, which is meant to allow the military to access data remotely.
BEZOS: AMERICA 'IN BIG TROUBLE' IF BIG TECH ABANDONS PENTAGON
In a court filing dated Jan. 17, Amazon said it wants to question Trump on any involvement he had with the JEDI contract, including any interactions he may have had on the issue with former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and current Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
Amazon's attorneys said the tech giant "recognizes that a deposition of a sitting President of the United States presents unique circumstances."
They "will work with the Court and the Department of Justice to develop appropriate protocols and safeguards, including to evaluate possible alternative methods, to ensure that the testimony is procured in a manner sensitive to the unique position of the Executive Office of the President," the Amazon legal team wrote.
READ DEPOSITION DOCUMENTS FILED BY AMAZON HERE
The company said last month it had asked the court to halt Microsoft's work on the contract.
"The preservation of public confidence in the nation's procurement process requires discovery and supplementation of the administrative record, particularly in light of President Trump's order to 'screw Amazon,'" an AWS spokesperson told FOX Business Monday. "The question is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of the DoD to pursue his own personal and political ends."
Bezos has warned that the U.S. is in "big trouble" if major tech companies abandon working with the Pentagon.
AMAZON ASKS COURT TO PAUSE MICROSOFT'S WORK ON PENTAGON JEDI CONTRACT
FOX Business' inquiries to the Department of Defense, White House and Microsoft were not immediately returned.
