The logo of the online sales giant Amazon shown on the phone.
U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon has quietly begun to prepare for the future. Recently, Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of Steve Ricchetti, one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main advisers, picked up a lobbying contract with Amazon Services LLC.
According to a new lobbying disclosure report, Biden’s adviser Ricchetti’s brother Jeff recently signed a lobbying contract with Amazon, U.S. media CNBC reported on Monday (28).
The report shows that Jeff registered as a lobbyist for Amazon Services LLC on Nov. 13, just a week after Biden claimed victory. Amazon lists the LLC as part of its group of companies on its website.
Steve also worked as a lobbyist more than a decade ago, when he served as deputy chief of staff for the Clinton administration. During his tenure, he helped Clinton lobby Congress to pass a controversial trade deal with China. Steve served as Biden’s chief of staff when Biden was vice president. As a liaison to Congress, Steve was reportedly highly regarded by Biden.
Now, Ricchetti Inc., which Steve co-founded with his brother, is poised to become a lobbying force for Biden. Amazon is the company’s 10th client company to register since May 1, 2020. Amazon executives are said to be pushing for its allies to play a role within Biden’s staff.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized Amazon, and several of its foreign sites, including platforms in Canada, Germany, France, India and the United Kingdom, are on the list of counterfeiters in the Special 301 Report on intellectual property protection released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in April.
On November 13, Richetti also signed a lobbying agreement with California-based biotechnology company Vaxart, which is developing an oral vaccine for the CCP virus.
Vaxart is under investigation by federal prosecutors for allegedly misleading investors by falsely claiming to be involved in Operation Warp Speed, a Trump administration-led effort to develop a vaccine for the Chinese Communist virus, according to the disclosure.
Vaxart said in June that the government had chosen it to test an oral vaccine on primates, sending the company’s shares soaring. According to The New York Times, the U.S. Department of health and Human Services (HHS) said Vaxart’s involvement in Operation Warp Speed was very limited.
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