The Defense Department said Thursday it would reevaluate a $10 billion cloud computing contract with Microsoft after a sustained protest from Amazon, which had argued it lost the deal due to possible interference by President Trump.
In a legal document filed with the Supreme Court, the Justice Department requested the review after Amazon argued in federal court that its bids and prices were improperly evaluated by the Pentagon. The Defense Department has asked for 120 days to reassess the award. The judge in the case, Patricia E. Campbell-Smith, is expected to allow the reevaluation to proceed, although she has not yet made a formal decision.
The review is a major decision in the case of the massive contract, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, which was seen as a prize for technology companies.
Amazon, the cloud computing giant, was widely seen as the winner of the contract before it was awarded to Microsoft in October. Amazon then pushed to overturn the decision, claiming that President Trump interfered because of his feud with Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post.
Amazon
Doug Stone, an Amazon spokesman, said Thursday that the company was “pleased that the U.S. acknowledged ‘significant and legitimate’ issues that impacted the JEDI award decision and that corrective action is necessary.” He added that Amazon looks forward to action “that fully insulates the reevaluation from political influence and corrects the many issues that impacted the original award.”
The ruling is not a complete victory for Amazon, however. The Justice Department told a court that the company would oppose the motion to reconsider the award of the contract. The move was based on the pricing issue, not whether Mr. Trump interfered in the process.
“We believe the Department of Defense made the right decision in awarding the contract,” said Frank X. Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, adding that the company remains confident that its proposal “is the right choice for the Department of Defense.”.
The Pentagon’s rapid change of position raises the question of whether it suddenly found merit in objections or whether officials fear that legal action would imply that Mr. Trump interfered in the selection.
However, a Defense Department official said off the record that the filing would force Amazon to prove Mr. Trump’s bias claims – a difficult legal challenge.
