Amazon says it lost its $10 billion 'JEDI' contract bid due to a 'personal vendetta' from...

[Polycount]

In a nutshell: It's no secret that Amazon and President Donald Trump don't exactly get along. However, the relationship between the two took a turn for the worse when Amazon lost its bid for the US Department of Defense's (DoD) $10 billion JEDI contract to Microsoft. In a lawsuit filed against the Department of Defense, the tech giant attributes this loss of potential work to "improper pressure" from Trump and a "personal vendetta" from the President.

This lawsuit isn't the first indication we've seen that Amazon is displeased with its failure to obtain the defense contract. When Microsoft first came out ahead in the JEDI deal, Amazon said that a "detailed assessment" based "purely on the comparative offerings" of both tech firms would have led to a different result.

However, at the time, Amazon stopped short of stating that there was any outright bias from President Trump. Even when the company first announced its plan to challenge the DoD's decision, any such claims were mostly absent. It wasn't until today, when this challenge's court documents were unsealed, that Amazon's beliefs were made fully public.

The lawsuit can be read right here (with some portions redacted; likely for security or privacy reasons), but we'll do our best to summarize some of Amazon's main complaints.

Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos.

For starters, the company says numerous "fundamental errors" were made during the DoD's evaluation of Amazon's Web Service (AWS) cloud skillset. The company alleges that the DoD ignored the "unique strengths" of AWS, overlooked "clear failures" in Microsoft's bid, and "[deviated] altogether" from its own evaluation criteria to give a "false sense of parity" between the two frontrunners.

Amazon also alleges that President Trump launched "repeated" attacks on the company and its bid for the JEDI contract, both in public and behind-the-scenes. While we're not saying Amazon's claims are accurate, Trump has indeed expressed concern with AWS' bid in the past.

Further, Amazon says Trump once directed his former Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, to "screw Amazon" out of the JEDI contract. This information comes from a book -- simply titled "A Warning" -- allegedly published by Mattis' former "chief speechwriter."

It remains to be seen whether or not Amazon will successfully manage to sway the DoD's already-established decision, but we'll keep you updated on this matter moving forward.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/83104-amazon-lost-10-billion-jedi-contract-bid-due.html

 

[Christiaaan]

Salty much?

 

[Hardware Geek]

What's the problem? Bezos isn't rich enough already?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I do very much hope that President Trump has not been confusing his personal issues with our country's. I am less likely to vote for him should that prove to be the case. I do not see "getting even with Bezos" as a convincing campaign argument.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Agent Orange's thin skin and mental ineptitude show him as a clear and present danger.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

I do very much hope that President Trump has not been confusing his personal issues with our country's.

Have you been under a rock since 2016? Everything Trump does is about making Trump richer and stroking his ego; dude doesn't give a you know what about anyone else, much less the good of the nation.

 

[Evernessince]

I do very much hope that President Trump has not been confusing his personal issues with our country's. I am less likely to vote for him should that prove to be the case. I do not see "getting even with Bezos" as a convincing campaign argument.

Unfortunately favoring or disfavoring specific contractors isn't strictly illegal although it certainly should be. Amazon is going to have to prove that the government did not have superior reasoning to choose Microsoft over Amazon. This can be somewhat subjective and hard to prove. Certainly Trump's comments will help Amazon's case as they provide sufficient mens rea. A document from someone in the administration directing the DoD to disfavor Amazon would be huge. I would not be surprised if this amounts to nothing though. After all, this administration has gotten away with giving extremely ill-equip contractors jobs in the past (like those given for Puerto Rico).

 

[m4a4]

Have you been under a rock since 2016? Everything Trump does is about making Trump richer and stroking his ego; dude doesn't give a you know what about anyone else, much less the good of the nation.

I'd hate to burst your bubble, but have you seen the jobs report for the US recently? Kinda makes your "argument" laughable at best.

 

[Danny101]

Amazon seems to be butthurt and have an entitlement issue.

 

[magdziam]

Stupid amazon will never have enough money blaming everyone and everything but it's own vanity. Lustful fools, I'm glad they lost.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

the jobs report for the US

Actually, that is something which bothers me - the labor participation rate continues to hover around 63%.... this means 37% of working age persons are NOT employed.... while it includes folks who are at home caring for children or elderly relatives, there are a large number of discouraged workers who have withdrawn from the market. This is lower than dozens of other countries (https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/labor-force-participation-rate).

 

[EClyde]

Trump has lost HOW MUCH truth due Bezo's fake news? Pay back is hell Jeffy

 

[EClyde]

Actually, that is something which bothers me - the labor participation rate continues to hover around 63%.... this means 37% of working age persons are NOT employed.... while it includes folks who are at home caring for children or elderly relatives, there are a large number of discouraged workers who have withdrawn from the market. This is lower than dozens of other countries (https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/labor-force-participation-rate).

Vote for a Dem...that will fix it

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Vote for a Dem...that will fix it

I just might this time around.

 

[m4a4]

Actually, that is something which bothers me - the labor participation rate continues to hover around 63%.... this means 37% of working age persons are NOT employed.... while it includes folks who are at home caring for children or elderly relatives, there are a large number of discouraged workers who have withdrawn from the market. This is lower than dozens of other countries (https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/labor-force-participation-rate).

Yes, but compared to previous reports, it's still positive. The point is that the narrative doesn't fit, and it's amusing lol

 

[wiyosaya]

Yes, but compared to previous reports, it's still positive. The point is that the narrative doesn't fit, and it's amusing lol

LOL - I don't think we've seen net the fallout yet.

 

[wiyosaya]

Trump has lost HOW MUCH truth due Bezo's fake news? Pay back is hell Jeffy

I think the question is does Trump even have any truth?

 

[OptimumSlinky]

I'd hate to burst your bubble, but have you seen the jobs report for the US recently? Kinda makes your "argument" laughable at best.

Yeah, and most of those "jobs" are minimum wage service or hourly positions. ACTUAL professional wages haven't risen since the '90s. Nobody gives a damn about unemployment being low when people are working multiple jobs to get by while CEOs make 1,000% more than the average employee.

 

[m4a4]

Yeah, and most of those "jobs" are minimum wage service or hourly positions. ACTUAL professional wages haven't risen since the '90s. Nobody gives a damn about unemployment being low when people are working multiple jobs to get by while CEOs make 1,000% more than the average employee.

And yet, if your narrative was true, it would actually be worse. But you people can't admit when things are going better than you want them to look.

 

[Evernessince]

And yet, if your narrative was true, it would actually be worse. But you people can't admit when things are going better than you want them to look.

The United States is in massive debt (1.5 Trillion added by Trump's tax cut per year) and the cost of living is outpacing increases in wages. You need two parents to be working to make the same income a single parent could in the 70s. It's also very true the rich are taking a larger cut of the economy then ever. People are going bankrupt from medical bills and there is a massive student debt bubble looming over the economy. Mass shootings are occurring at an unheard of rate and hate crime is at a 10 year high. Companies like Amazon payed a NEGATIVE tax rate thanks to Trumps tax cut. The united states was the only first world country where average life span decreased. US infrastructure is crumbling and received an F grade from the US corps of engineers. The Trump administration has spent an unprecedented amount on lawsuits. Trump has already spent more on security and travel at maralago then Obama did in his 8 years. In fact he's on pace to double obama in half the time. Trump abandoned a US alley, tore up agreements unilaterally, and pardoned war criminals tarnishing the United State's reputation abroad. In fact, every diplomatic matter Trump has either flubbed or catastrophically flubbed.

Trump is on pace to double the deficit that Obama had, only Obama came into office during a recession and Trump came into office during an expansion and has only been in office during an expansion. Something tells me by his past failed business that he's not good at righting a ship. I don't really get how a good jobs report says anything positive about Trump either. We were already in an expansion before he even got into office. Unless you can directly attribute one of Trump's policies specifically for creating those jobs, you are really just making up reasons to fit your narrative. Economies are complicated and there is almost never a easily determinable response to a given action. Anyone making absolute claims right now when even economists don't have enough data are just BSing.

 

[m4a4]

The United States is in massive debt (1.5 Trillion added by Trump's tax cut per year) and the cost of living is outpacing increases in wages. You need two parents to be working to make the same income a single parent could in the 70s. It's also very true the rich are taking a larger cut of the economy then ever. People are going bankrupt from medical bills and there is a massive student debt bubble looming over the economy. Mass shootings are occurring at an unheard of rate and hate crime is at a 10 year high. Companies like Amazon payed a NEGATIVE tax rate thanks to Trumps tax cut. The united states was the only first world country where average life span decreased. US infrastructure is crumbling and received an F grade from the US corps of engineers. The Trump administration has spent an unprecedented amount on lawsuits. Trump has already spent more on security and travel at maralago then Obama did in his 8 years. In fact he's on pace to double obama in half the time. Trump abandoned a US alley, tore up agreements unilaterally, and pardoned war criminals tarnishing the United State's reputation abroad. In fact, every diplomatic matter Trump has either flubbed or catastrophically flubbed.

Trump is on pace to double the deficit that Obama had, only Obama came into office during a recession and Trump came into office during an expansion and has only been in office during an expansion. Something tells me by his past failed business that he's not good at righting a ship.

Thanks for the point and case. Trying way too hard to counter my point of "if Trump was only in it for himself, why are there things on the uptake?".
Can't even say 1 positive thing about the US economy, as if it would kill you.

Wasn't it you people only months ago that were screaming that the US was imminently going towards a recession because of Trump (and praying that it would)? Or have we forgotten about those hysterics?

 

[Xclusiveitalian]

So they lost the contract fairly and are now complaining it's Trump fault? lol ok

 

[captaincranky]

Stupid amazon will never have enough money blaming everyone and everything but it's own vanity. Lustful fools, I'm glad they lost.

The only trouble with this statement, is that M$ will never have enough money either. Plus with the steaming turd that is Windows 10, and now with office only being available as a subscription, it's almost impossible to root for one over the other.

 

[captaincranky]

And yet, if your narrative was true, it would actually be worse. But you people can't admit when things are going better than you want them to look.

I've been able to watch these "massive job growths" on TV. Ir seems that delivering pizza is considered a "career". instead of the after school for beer money part time gigs that precocious teens once had to themselves.

Our manufacturing infrastructure is largely gone, and if you refuse to believe me, just look where the vast majority of things you buy from Walmart or Amazon are likely made...........(wait for it)....they're from CHINA!

If fact, all of the parts for that computer you're using to extol Trump's "virtues", are either from China, or somewhere else in southeast Asia.

It's true you can juggle the numbers all you want, but Trump's alleged "job creation", still leaves people in the lurch without any benefits, because they (supposedly) "work part time".

Today you can even have McDonald's garbage delivered, and whomever is bringing it to you, would better be described as "desperate", as opposed to "career driven".

 

[Puiu]

Unfortunately favoring or disfavoring specific contractors isn't strictly illegal although it certainly should be. Amazon is going to have to prove that the government did not have superior reasoning to choose Microsoft over Amazon. This can be somewhat subjective and hard to prove. Certainly Trump's comments will help Amazon's case as they provide sufficient mens rea. A document from someone in the administration directing the DoD to disfavor Amazon would be huge. I would not be surprised if this amounts to nothing though. After all, this administration has gotten away with giving extremely ill-equip contractors jobs in the past (like those given for Puerto Rico).

If Amazon can prove that the bid was won by MS based on false and incorrect assessments then the bid can be declared null and void and a new one will be held. They can't do much to Trump (legally), but they can "screw" him

It also doesn't bode well for Trump to be accused of abusing of his power by a third party during his impeachment hearings, which are all about his alleged abuse of power (well, I don't know if you can classify them as alleged when he himself admitted to doing it on live TV - it's fun to watch him implode because of what he says or writes).