Cicilline Received Thousands in Amazon Exec Contributions - 2 Months Before July Antitrust Hearings

Cicilline Received Thousands in Amazon Exec Contributions - 2 Months Before July Antitrust Hearings

United States Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) -- who is heading a Congressional anti-trust probe into Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook -- received thousands in contributions from five senior executives at Amazon just months prior, CNBC.com reported on Sunday.

“Over a three-week period starting in late May, five senior executives from Amazon made individual contributions to Rep. David Cicilline, the Democrat from Rhode Island who’s leading the House antitrust investigation into major tech companies, public filings show,” reported CNBC. “Cicilline became the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee in January, when Democrats regained control of the House.

Cicilline’s office told CNBC that on the day the subcommittee launched its antitrust investigation, that he put in place “a formal policy of refusing campaign contributions from companies and executives that may be subject to scrutiny.” The donations by Amazon executives were made before the antitrust probe announcement, and before the July hearing was scheduled.

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Cicilline called for the Amazon hearings on July 13. 

“Competition is essential for a healthy economy. That’s true across the board. Amazon’s proposed purchase of Whole Foods could impact neighborhood grocery stores and hardworking consumers across America,” said Cicilline. “Congress has a responsibility to fully scrutinize this merger before it goes ahead. Failing to do so is a disservice to our constituents.” 

According to CNBC, the executives who donated to Cicilline “include Amazon’s CEO of worldwide consumer Jeff Wilke, CFO Brian Olsavsky, general counsel David Zapolsky, SVP of worldwide operations Dave Clark, and SVP of North America consumer Doug Herrington. They all contributed the max $2,800 allowed, except for Olsavsky, who donated $1,500.”

Latest for Cicilline

As GoLocal reported when it was announced that Cicilline would be serving as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee for the next two years — “Cicilline to Chair Antitrust Subcommittee—Inconsistent Record on Corporate Mergers.”

“Cicilline's records on mergers is inconsistent,” reported GoLocalProv.com. “He was an outspoken critic of the merger between Amazon and Whole Foods, but supported the much larger CVS acquisition of Aetna insurance.”