Five members of Congress sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy asking for proof regarding some statements made by company executives — including then-CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos — and questioning if some may have lied while under oath during 2019 and 2020 investigations, The Wall Street Journal reported after viewing the correspondence.
Signed by Reps. David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island), Ken Buck (R-Colorado), Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) and Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), the letter stems from a House Subcommittee investigation into how Amazon used data from third-party sellers as it was creating its own private-label merchandise.
See also: Report: Amazon Copied Products, Rigged Search in India
“We strongly encourage you to make use of this opportunity to correct the record and provide the Committee with sworn, truthful and accurate responses to this request as we consider whether a referral of this matter to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation is appropriate,” per the letter.
Amazon maintains that no one in the company misled the subcommittee, a spokesperson told WSJ. Further, the company has a policy in place that forbids the use of seller data for the development of Amazon merchandise.
Read more: Additional State AGs Join Amazon Antitrust Probe
Named in the letter is Bezos, Amazon’s Associate General Counsel Nate Sutton, General Counsel David Zapolsky and the company’s VP for Public Policy Brian Huseman. The letter points to published media reports in the WSJ and other outlets that contradict the testimony.
The WSJ reported last year that Amazon employees said it was common practice to “reverse-engineer” popular products for the company’s own private label.
“At best, this reporting confirms that Amazon misled the Committee. At worst, it demonstrates that Amazon may have lied to Congress,” the letter indicated.
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