Amazon to Seek Order to Block Microsoft From Working on US DoD's JEDI Contract

Amazon plans to file a motion for a temporary restraining order on January 24

By Reuters | Updated: 14 January 2020 16:51 IST

Highlights

Amazon blames US President of exerting "improper pressure"
JEDI contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon
Microsoft did not have a comment on Amazon's intent to file the motion

Amazon to Seek Order to Block Microsoft From Working on US DoD's JEDI Contract

The Department of Defense rejects any suggestion of bias, says decision was conducted freely and fairly

Amazon.com will ask a judge to temporarily block Microsoft from working on a $10 billion cloud contract from the Pentagon, a court filing showed on Monday.

Amazon, which was seen as a favorite for the contract, plans to file a motion for a temporary restraining order on January 24 and a federal court will issue its decision on February 11, according to the filing.

The e-commerce giant has blamed US President Donald Trump of exerting "improper pressure" and bias that led the US Department of Defense (DoD) to award the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract to Microsoft.

The Department of Defense has stood by its decision, with its Secretary Mark Esper rejecting any suggestion of bias and saying the decision was conducted freely and fairly, without any outside influence.

The JEDI contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations.

Microsoft did not have a comment on Amazon's intent to file the motion. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment and the DoD could not be immediately reached.