Last year, in a public stand following January 6th, Amazon pledged to stop its corporate political action committee contributions to politicians who try to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Along with other tech leviathans, Amazon made that promise.
The company has been funneling money back to them. Judd Legum reported on his website that Amazon sent at least $17,500 to nine different GOP Representatives in the month of September. Gizmodo verified that Amazon gave money to election deniers.
The National Republican Senate Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee received $30,000 each from the company in February. An Amazon spokesman said in an email that they had received donations.
The Amazon Political Action Committee has long given to members of Congress who share our views on issues that are important to our customers and our business in general. When we announced shortly after the attack on the Capitol in January 2021 that we would suspend donations to members of Congress who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, it was not intended to be permanent. It’s been more than 21 months since that suspension and, like a number of companies, we’ve resumed giving to some members.
Amazon's corporate lobbyists never stopped funding election deniers even during the so-called "suspension" It is not clear what benefit the action had on campaign finances or the state of U.S. democracy.
Amazon pointed out in its statement that many other companies have resumed giving money to these politicians. AT&T has given almost half a million dollars to 87 different Republican objectors since they promised to stop giving. Intel has given tens of thousands of dollars. There are 54 different GOP election deniers who have received $123,000 from the same company.
The e-tailer's numbers may seem pittance, but they are only the beginning. It resumed direct donations to election denying political campaigns just in time for the mid-term elections.
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