Amazon Web Services filed an agency protest with the Defense Department last week seeking what the company said was clarification over ambiguous pricing requirements in the amended JEDI solicitation.

The move comes as AWS’ case in federal court is on hold after a judge ordered the Defense Department to take corrective action to fix parts of the contract the Pentagon agreed were flawed when it made the award to Microsoft in last October.

In a statement regarding the protest, which is confidential, an AWS spokesperson told Nextgov the company took action only after the Defense Department refused to answer questions over multiple correspondences.

“AWS is committed to ensuring it receives a fair and objective review on an award decision that the Court found to be flawed. AWS repeatedly sought clarity from the DoD around ambiguous aspects of the amended solicitation and the DoD refused to answer our questions,” an AWS spokesperson said. “We simply want to ensure a common understanding of the DoD’s requirements and eliminate ambiguity that could impact a fair evaluation.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/05/amazon-files-another-protest-over-jedi-contract/165243/

Federal Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith has granted the Defense Department’s March request for a 120-day stay to take corrective action on parts of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract, which it awarded to Microsoft in October.

Amazon Web Services, which protested the award, had asked the judge in previous motions to force the Pentagon to take more expansive correction action, accusing the government of attempting to “gerrymander” revisions to the procurement.

In the order, which is under seal, Campbell-Smith grants the Defense Department’s motion for remand so that “it may reconsider the aspects of the procurement challenged in this protest action,” though the 120-day remand could be lengthened or shortened upon motion and subsequent judge’s decision.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/04/judge-grants-pentagons-request-corrective-action-jedi-cloud-contract/164721/

The Defense Department improperly disclosed sensitive information about its JEDI Cloud contract decision to Amazon after the company lost out on the multibillion dollar award, according to a review of the hotly-contested procurement by the Pentagon’s inspector general.

The findings — which also indicate DoD failed to redact Microsoft’s proprietary information in its disclosures to AWS — are part of a sweeping 313-page report the DoD IG released last week.

Overall, the review found that while two DoD officials committed ethical missteps as part of the contracting process, they likely did not have an impact on the department’s final decisions. The OIG also said the department’s acquisition processes for JEDI — including the decision to award the contract to a single vendor — were “reasonable” and “consistent with applicable law.”

On another key question: whether the White House inappropriately interfered with the procurement, OIG officials said they could not come to any definitive conclusions, because the Trump administration had asserted a “presidential communications privilege.”  In response, Pentagon lawyers instructed Defense officials not to talk with the IG about any discussions they may have had with the White House about JEDI.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/04/pentagon-ig-review-finds-dod-improperly-disclosed-jedi-information-to-aws/

The Defense Department urged a federal judge to grant its motion — filed in March —  for a 120-day remand to reconsider the evaluation for its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract.

In a legal filing April 3, Justice Department attorneys representing the Pentagon said Amazon Web Services seeks a “do-over” of the JEDI contract Microsoft ultimately won in October.

In late March, AWS — which is protesting the JEDI cloud contract award — asked Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith to deny the Pentagon’s motion for a four-month remand over its narrow focus, accusing the Pentagon of attempting to “gerrymander” revisions to the evaluation.  AWS wants the Pentagon to address a host of potential evaluation flaws beyond the specific pricing scenario the department has agreed to correct.

In its April 3 filing, the Pentagon stated its proposed remand is “in good faith to reconsider its evaluation and source selection decisions.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/04/pentagon-attorneys-say-amazon-wants-do-over-jedi-bid/164398/