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   Amazon’s cloud computing arm wants to depose President Donald   
   Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Defense Secretary   
   James Mattis over a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract awarded   
   to Microsoft, according to court documents unsealed Monday.   
      
   Amazon Web Services (AWS) said in the filing that it wants to   
   depose Trump to learn more about any private conversations or   
   instructions that were given in regard to the JEDI contract   
   award.   
      
   In November, Amazon filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal   
   Claims indicating a plan to protest the Pentagon’s decision to   
   award Microsoft the multibillion-dollar cloud contract.   
      
   WASHINGTON — Amazon is seeking to depose President Donald Trump,   
   Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Defense Secretary James   
   Mattis over a $10 billion Pentagon cloud contract awarded to   
   Microsoft.   
      
   In court documents unsealed and filed Monday, Amazon’s cloud   
   computing arm said it’s looking to depose seven “individuals who   
   were instrumental” in the JEDI source selection and “played   
   pivotal roles” in the ultimate awarding of the contract. Aside   
   from Trump, Mattis and Esper, Amazon Web Services is also   
   seeking to depose the Defense Department’s chief information   
   officer, Dana Deasy, and the source selection authority, which   
   awarded the contract to Microsoft, as well as the chairpersons   
   of the SSA, according to the documents.   
      
   A spokesperson for AWS told CNBC in a statement: “President   
   Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to use his   
   position as President and Commander in Chief to interfere with   
   government functions – including federal procurements – to   
   advance his personal agenda. 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.’ 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.”   
      
   The White House declined to comment. Representatives from the   
   Defense Department declined to comment. Microsoft also declined   
   to comment.   
      
   The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, cloud   
   computing contract could be worth up to $10 billion for services   
   rendered over as many as 10 years. The Pentagon selected   
   Microsoft over Amazon for the colossal contract on Oct. 25.   
   Amazon was initially seen as the favorite to win the contract,   
   then Trump said in July he was looking into the contract after   
   IBM and other companies protested the bidding process.   
      
   In November, Amazon filed a notice in the U.S. Court of Federal   
   Claims indicating a plan to protest the Pentagon’s decision to   
   award Microsoft the multibillion-dollar cloud contract. Amazon   
   claimed that the JEDI evaluation process contained “clear   
   deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias.”   
      
   Amazon said in court documents made public last December that   
   Trump launched “behind-the-scenes attacks” against the company,   
   which caused it to lose out on the JEDI contract. Some of those   
   alleged attacks were detailed in Mattis’ recent memoir, in which   
   the former Defense secretary claimed Trump told him to “screw   
   Amazon” out of the contract.   
      
   Read more: Trump says he’s looking into a Pentagon cloud contract   
      
   AWS said it’s looking to depose Trump about his involvement in   
   the bidding process, including any private conversations that   
   took place or any instructions that were given regarding the   
   award, as well as any “efforts to harm Amazon or AWS.”   
      
   “While other individuals can testify about specific   
   conversations he had with them individually, President Trump is   
   the only individual who can testify about the totality of his   
   conversations and the overall message he conveyed,” according to   
   the filings. “Moreover, President Trump has unique knowledge   
   about whether he had other, previously undisclosed conversations   
   with individuals not previously identified, and who therefore do   
   not appear on the deposition list.”   
      
   AWS wants to depose Mattis because it claims he has “highly   
   relevant, first-hand knowledge about Trump’s animus toward Mr.   
   Bezos and Amazon and the efforts President Trump took to   
   pressure DoD officials” on the JEDI contract award.   
      
   AWS claims Esper intervened in the JEDI award process to   
   “conduct an ‘examination’ at President Trump’s behest.” Esper   
   announced last August that he would review the JEDI contract and   
   recused himself from the JEDI source selection process last   
   October. AWS said the timing, circumstances and announcement of   
   Esper’s recusal raises concerns and that it would seek further   
   details about his recusal by deposing Esper.   
      
   Bezos has been a constant source of frustration for Trump. The   
   billionaire executive owns The Washington Post newspaper, which   
   Trump regularly criticizes for its coverage of his   
   administration.   
      
   Trump also has gone after Amazon repeatedly for, as he claims,   
   not paying its fair share of taxes and ripping off the U.S. Post   
   Office.   
      
   In December, Amazon’s AWS chief, Andy Jassy, told CNBC that the   
   cloud contracting was not adjudicated fairly.   
      
   “You know, there was significant political interference here,”   
   Jassy explained of the JEDI award.   
      
   “When you have a sitting president who’s willing to be very   
   vocal that they dislike a company and the CEO of that company,   
   it makes it difficult for government agencies, including the DoD   
   to make objective decisions without fear of reprisal. And I   
   think that’s dangerous and risky for our country,” he told   
   CNBC’s Jon Fortt.   
      
   https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/10/amazon-wants-to-depose-president-   
   trump-over-jedi-cloud-contract-loss.html   
       
      
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