Amazon Quietly Re-Starts Donating to Election Denying Politicians

Last 12 months, in a public stand following January sixth, Amazon pledged to stop its company PAC contributions to politicians who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.“Given the unacceptable attempt to undermine a legitimate democratic process, the Amazon PAC has suspended contributions to any Member of Congress who voted to override the results of the US Presidential election,” the corporate wrote again in January 2021. Amazon made that promise along with multiple other tech leviathans.

But now, the corporate has quietly re-started funneling cash to election denying House members. Amazon’s political motion committee despatched a minimum of $17,500 complete to 9 totally different such GOP Representatives in simply the month of September, as first reported by Judd Legum on his information web site Popular Information. Based on Federal Election Commission data, Gizmodo verified that Amazon’s latest PAC donations to election deniers embody:

• $1,000 to August Pfluger (R-TX)
• $1,000 to Stephanie Bice (R-OK)
• $2,500 to Tom Cole (R-OK)
• $1,000 to Darrell Issa (R-CA)
• $1,000 to Garret Graves (R-LA)
• $2,500 to Sam Graves (R-MO)
• $2,500 to Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)
• $5,000 to Mike Rogers (R-AL)
• $1,000 Rob Wittman (R-VA).

In February, the corporate additionally gave $30,000 each to the National Republican Senate Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee—each of which clearly fund election deniers. Asked concerning the donations, an Amazon spokesperson stated the next in an e mail to Gizmodo:

The Amazon Political Action Committee has lengthy given to members of Congress who share our views on points which are necessary to our prospects and our enterprise usually. When we introduced shortly after the assault on the Capitol in January 2021 that we’d droop donations to members of Congress who voted towards certifying the outcomes of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, it was not meant to be everlasting. It’s been greater than 21 months since that suspension and, like a lot of corporations, we’ve resumed giving to some members.

It’s price noting that, even in the course of the so-called “suspension” Amazon’s company lobbyists never stopped funding election deniers. So, it’s unclear what profit the motion actually had on marketing campaign funds or the well being of U.S. democracy.

And as Amazon identified in its assertion, numerous different corporations have resumed overtly giving cash to those “Stop the Steal” politicians. AT&T, as an example, has given $448,900 to 87 totally different Republican objectors since they vowed to droop contributions. Intel has given a minimum of $38,000. Verizon has donated $123,000 to 54 totally different GOP election deniers, based on Popular Info’s continually updating list on the matter.

Amazon’s numbers could appear a pittance by comparability, however the e-tailer’s PAC is just getting began. September was the primary month it resumed direct donations to election denying political campaigns, simply in time for midterm elections.