Pentagon probe unable to rule out White House influence on JEDI contract

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

TECHNOLOGY NEWS APRIL 15, 2020 / 10:51 AM / UPDATED 15 MINUTES AGO

Pentagon probe unable to rule out White House influence on JEDI contract

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon’s inspector general on Wednesday said it could not determine whether the White House influenced the award of a $10 billion contract to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) over Amazon (AMZN.O) after several officials said their conversations were privileged “presidential communications.”

Known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud, or JEDI, the $10 billion cloud computing contract is intended to give the military better access to data and technology from remote locations.

“We could not definitively determine the full extent or nature of interactions that administration officials had, or may have had, with senior DoD officials regarding the JEDI Cloud procurement because of the assertion of a ‘presidential communications privilege,’” the report said, referring to the Department of Defense by its acronym.

Amazon, originally considered to be the favorite to win the award, has blamed U.S. President Donald Trump for bias against the company and for improperly pressuring the Pentagon.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-pentagon-microsoft/pentagon-probe-unable-to-rule-out-white-house-influence-on-jedi-contract-idUSKCN21X27T

[C_U_L8R]

1. If they refuse to talk, it's worse than we think.

Corruption is everywhere with the Trumps.

[riversedge]

2. correct. damn.

[SheltieLover]

3. Yup!

[underpants]

4. This is the graft you are looking for

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Pentagon barred from discussing Trump in JEDI contract probe

Hat tip, Joe.My.God

DEFENSE

Pentagon barred from discussing Trump in JEDI contract probe

Amazon sued the Defense Department last year, alleging that the Pentagon made several mistakes in its evaluation of bids.

By JACQUELINE FELDSCHER

04/15/2020 11:24 AM EDT

Updated: 04/15/2020 01:54 PM EDT

The Pentagon’s inspector general “could not definitively determine” whether the White House influenced the procurement process for a major cloud computing contract because senior Defense Department officials were barred from answering questions on the subject during interviews, according to a 313-page report released on Wednesday.

Department personnel who evaluated proposals and awarded the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract were not pressured by any senior DoD leaders, the IG found. But investigators were unable to rule out whether the White House interfered with the contract award because DoD's general counsel instructed senior DoD witnesses not to verbally answer questions about communications between the White House and Pentagon because of “the assertion of a ‘presidential communications privilege.’”

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