For Immediate Release: April 23, 2020

Press Contact: Robyn Shapiro, rshapiro@economicliberties.us

Perjury is a Crime, Even When Amazon Does It:

Economic Liberties Calls for Criminal Perjury Investigation of Amazon Lawyer Nate Sutton and Amazon Senior Executives Bezos, Carney, and Others

Washington, D.C. – The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, which revealed that Amazon uses trade secret data from independent sellers on its platform to develop competing products:

In July, Nate Sutton, an Amazon associate general counsel and former DOJ antitrust trial attorney, spoke under oath to the Antitrust Subcommittee about Amazon’s practices of competing with third party sellers. In response to a question by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal on the corporation’s use of third party seller data to create competitive private label products, he said, “We do not use any of that specific seller data in creating our own private brand products.” Today the Wall Street Journal revealed that what Sutton said is not true. According to documents and former employees, Amazon employees use trade secret data from independent sellers on its platform to develop competing products.

“Mr. Sutton knows that lying to a Congressional committee is a crime,” said Economic Liberties’ Executive Director Sarah Miller. “The Committee should make a criminal referral for perjury, and the Department of Justice should investigate what Mr. Sutton knew and when he knew it.”

“In addition, the DOJ should investigate what role Jeff Bezos, Jay Carney, and other senior executives played in developing that response, and what they know about the practice,” Miller added. “Bezos needs to testify under oath and explain why his corporation’s agents are lying to Congress.”

Watch clip of Rep. Jayapal and Sutton here.

Watch clip of Chairman Cicilline reminding Sutton that he is under oath here.

Watch Chairman Cicilline swearing in witnesses here. 

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Economic Liberties works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. AELP believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.