Brother Of Joe Biden’s Closest Advisor Picks Up Amazon As New Client

Amazon has hired Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of Joe Biden’s White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, to work for its cloud platform Amazon Web Services.

A new lobbying disclosure report revealed Jeff Ricchetti landed a lobbying contract with the tech retail giant last month, according to CNBC. Jeff Ricchetti registered to lobby for Amazon Web Services on Nov. 13.

He is expected to lobby for Amazon on coronavirus-related issues including the execution of the CARES Act.

While an attorney suggested that Jeff Ricchetti's new job could become a conflict for Steve Ricchetti, who may have to recuse himself from dealing with his brother’s clients, an inside source insisted there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Jeff has never and will never lobby his brother on behalf of any of his clients, and Steve has had no role in his brother’s business since he sold his stake in the firm in 2012,” the insider told CNBC.

“Steve and Jeff keep their professional activities distinctly separate,” the source added.

In the past, Biden has made it clear that he is opposed to Amazon's tax breaks. In a “Squawk Box” interview in May, Biden suggested that Amazon should be paying more in taxes.

“I don’t think any company, I don’t give a damn how big they are, the Lord almighty, should absolutely be in a position where they pay no tax and make billions and billions and billions of dollars, No. 1,” he said.

The president-elect previously got into a Twitter feud with Amazon slamming its profiting from a lower tax rate. However, the company fired back insisting, “We pay every penny we owe.”