A bipartisan group of members on the House Judiciary Committee has alerted the Justice Department to “potentially criminal conduct” by Amazon and its senior executives related to a committee investigation into competition in digital markets.
In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the lawmakers, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., accuse Amazon of engaging in a “pattern and practice” of misleading conduct that appeared designed to “influence, obstruct, or impede” the committee.
The panel has been conducting a 16-month investigation into competition in digital markets.
(Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.)
Amazon could not immediately be reached for comment. In the past, a company spokesman has denied that it misled the committee.
The 24-page letter, dated March 9, accuses the Seattle-based company of lying in sworn testimony to the committee in 2019 about whether it uses data that it collects from third-party sellers to compete with them. “[C]redible investigative reporting” and the committee’s investigation showed the company was engaging in the practice despite its denial, the letter said.
Subsequently, as the investigation continued, Amazon tried to “cover up its lie by offering ever-shifting explanations” of its policies, the letter said.
Furthermore, “after Amazon was caught in a lie and repeated misrepresentations, it stonewalled the Committee’s efforts to uncover the truth,” according to the letter.
In addition to Nadler, Judiciary committee members signing the letter include Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., the chairman of the panel’s subcommittee on antitrust, commercial and administrative law; and Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, the top Republican on the subcommittee. Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., two other subcommittee members, also signed the letter.
“Amazon and its executives must be held accountable for this behavior,” the letter said. “That is why we are referring this matter to the Department of Justice to investigate whether Amazon obstructed Congress or violated other federal laws. We look forward to hearing from the Department on this important matter.”