Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's $10 Billion JEDI Cloud Contract Amid Amazon Lawsuit
A federal judge issues a preliminary injunction against the JEDI cloud contract while Amazon argues that President Trump exerted undue political influence to steer the award to Microsoft.
A federal judge blocks the Pentagon from moving forward with its massive $10 billion JEDI cloud contract while a lawsuit from Amazon Web Services proceeds. Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith grants Amazon's motion for a preliminary injunction, halting work on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program until the court provides further notice.
Amazon sues the Defense Department after the contract goes to Microsoft in October, arguing that the Pentagon makes numerous errors in the award process. The company also claims it is the superior enterprise cloud provider, pointing out that it already hosts government data at the required top-secret level while Microsoft only recently receives temporary accreditation for that security level.
Furthermore, Amazon asserts that President Trump exerts undue influence over the decision through his frequent public criticisms of Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos. A nonprofit group called Protect Democracy files an amicus brief supporting Amazon, arguing that the president plausibly interferes in the procurement process to advance his own personal interests.