Congress demand Jeff Bezos testify after Democrat leaders said they suspect Amazon LIED to lawmakers
AMAZON boss Jeff Bezos has been called to testify before Congress as top Democrats claim Amazon may have lied to lawmakers.
The testimony would allow lawmakers would quiz the world's richest man on serious accusations made against Amazon over the past few months.
The multimillion-dollar company has been accused of abusing its market power in online retail, mistreating employees and damages small businesses.
Lawmakers have requested documents from Amazon and fellow online giants Facebook, Google and Apple, including emails between top executives.
The team, led by the Democratic chairman of the committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, has threatened to use the panel's power to legally force Mr. Bezos to the testify should he not do so willingly.
In a letter to Mr. Bezos, the lawmakers wrote: "Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to a compulsory process if necessary."
The decision to call Mr. Bezos to testify comes after an article in the The Wall Street Journal revealed Amazon employees had used data from third-party sellers to hone its private label offerings, which could potentially contradict a testimony given by an Amazon laywer to the comittee last year.
In a press release, the panel said: On April 23, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon used sensitive business information from third-party sellers on its platform to develop competing products, contradicting representations that Amazon made to the House Judiciary Committee in sworn written and oral testimony at a hearing on July 16, 2019,"
Although we expect that you will testify on a voluntary basis, we reserve the right to resort to a compulsory process if necessary.
A letter to Mr Bezos from lawmakers
"If the reporting in the Wall Street Journal article is accurate, then statements Amazon made to the Committee about the company's business practices appear to be misleading, and possibly criminally false or perjurious."
This comes as Amazon activists scrawled "protect workers" in huge letters on the street outside CEO Jeff Bezos' million-dollar mansion to demand better working conditions on Wednesday.
The mural outside Bezos' $23 million DC home comes as some employees prepare to strike with fellow frontline workers who feel they aren't being protected by companies amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Painters included activists with ShutDownDC and La ColectiVA, grassroots activist groups that streamed the hour-long process was on Facebook Live.
The Amazon boss couldn't miss the graffiti, which stretched across the width of the entire street in front of the converted textile museum he bought four years ago.
ShutDownDC volunteer Hope Neyer told DCist said participants wore masks and practiced social distancing to ensure the protest was safe yesterday as police monitored the situation.
'PROTECT WORKERS'
It's not known whether the Amazon mogul was home at the time but a Washington Post reporter noted that there was "no movement" inside on Twitter.
The publication noted the mural came on the same day as a town hall in DC, where workers demanded paid time off, more PPE, more cleaning, and no retaliation for workers who decide to demonstrate.
Locals want the company to forgo $770 million in tax incentives Virginia governments promised Amazon in return for 40,000 high-income jobs there.
The news comes as Amazon workers join forces with Instacart, Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and FedEx as workers are slated to protest their employers' supposedly profiting at the expense of their health.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Sun: "The fact is that today the overwhelming majority of our more than 840,000 employees around the world are at work as usual continuing to support getting people in their communities the items they need during these challenging times.
"While there is tremendous media coverage of today’s protests we see no measurable impact on operations.
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"Health and safety is our top priority and we expect to spend more than $800 million in the first half of the year on COVID-19 safety measures. Our focus remains on protecting associates in our operations network with extensive measures including distributing face masks, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, implementing temperature checks, operating with strict social distancing protocols, and recognizing their contributions with additional pay and leading benefits.
"We encourage anyone interested in the facts to compare our overall pay and benefits, as well as our speed in managing this crisis, to other retailers and major employers across the country."
The Sun.com has approached Amazon for comment.
